Kismet
by Andrina
Summary: AU. Years ago, the kingdom of Nerima fell under the rule of a cruel King. Presently, Shrine Maiden Akane finds herself the lone survivor of an unexplained invasion on her temple by the King's armies, until she meets Ranma, leader of a rising rebellion.
1. Chapter One

_Standard Disclaimer applies to each and every chapter of this story._

* * *

**Prologue**

There was a time, many summers ago, when the kingdom of Nerima had flourished.

The King was a man named Tendo Soun. He had not been extraordinarily remarkable as a leader, but he loved his people and did his best to serve them. Nerima flourished, as a result of his efforts and care, and the people in return loved their King.

But for many summers, the King and his Queen remained childless.

The Queen, a foreign Lady named Kimiko, was said to have been extremely unhappy during those years. Those who had worked in the Palace now whispered softly among themselves: how pale she had been then, how frail she had looked.

It was no secret that the couple yearned for children, but as the years passed and no heirs were produced, the advisors of the Kingdom began to frown. Where were the heirs, they would ask, almost demandingly, and the Queen seemed to shrink into herself at those words. The King, in the meanwhile, hovered helplessly at the side, obviously sorrowful. They sent the Court Magician, the Healer, the Seer to the King and Queen… but nothing seemed to work.

Then, one day, it was announced that the Queen was expecting.

In spring, the Queen gave birth to a baby girl. The following winter, another girl was born. And in the second summer that followed the birth of the second daughter, she delivered a third girl.

It was said that during that period of time, the King and Queen had never looked happier.

But the happiness did not last. One year after the youngest daughter was born, the Queen died of illness. Years after her death, those who had seen her waste away on her bed never spoke a word of the terrible illness that took their Queen, except on dark stormy nights, when they would bow their heads and inevitably their thoughts would turn to her.

Without the Queen, it was as though a shadow had fallen upon Nerima. Months after her death, the King vanished without a trace, so grief-stricken that he committed suicide. It was days before they found his body in a nearby river. Legend went that every year, on the night of the Queen's death, the King's spirit would linger by the river, crying for his wife and children.

Now that Nerima was without a ruler, turmoil broke out throughout the lands. There were distant Lords and Ladies rising to the occasion with claims for the throne, each demanding to get a piece of the Palace. Then there were rebels and corrupted officials viciously fighting for power. Villages were torched, people were dying… and no one cared.

It went on for a year… until the head advisor, a calculating man known as Dasier, seized the throne.

Abara Dasier was a strange man to the people of Nerima. Most of the people in Nerimahad dark hair and eyes, yet this man walked around fearlessly with his pale blond hair and odd dark eyes. Mixed parentage, the rumors went, and many nodded in agreement. Dasier was a last name unfamiliar to Nerima. It all seemed too sudden, too strange, to have a foreigner suddenly gain control of the large kingdom.

But Abara Dasier took control easily. I will rule Nerima, the man said. I will rule Nerima until the Princesses come of age.

So Nerima settled down once more, content with the idea.

But then it was announced: the Princesses had vanished without a trace during the civil war. It was assumed they had been killed; the attacks on the Palace after their parents' death were too many to count. Grief poured out from all corners of the Kingdom… but no one dared to rise against Dasier. He had the armies at his command by then… what could they do? Besides, he seemed to be all right, at the beginning at least, so the people accepted his rule grudgingly.

But as time passed, life became harder, Dasier's rule became harsher, and the future became bleaker. Gradually, all that was left of King Tendo's rule were distant wistful memories. No one remembered the Princesses; they had all but become myths, stories conjured up by mothers to soothe their little children in times when food was scarce. "One day we will have more food than we can eat," they would say softly, pressing light kisses on their crying children's foreheads. "When the Princesses return, we will have new clothes and new shoes."

But the Princesses had all but faded into wishful thinking. No one even remembered their names anymore.

Nerima never flourished again.

**

* * *

**

Kismet

**A Ranma ½ Alternate Universe  
By Andrina**

* * *

_**Kismet** \Kis"met\, n. Per. qismat.  
**Destiny; fate.** Written also kismat. Oriental  
(From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48)_

**_"It is in moments of decision that your destiny is shaped._"  
_-Anthony Robbins_**

_

* * *

_

"Fifteen years since the end of his rule…"

"Sorry?" Akane blinked, confused. "Did you say something, Lady Kikyou?"

The woman turned her gaze away from the window, looking almost wistful for a moment. "Fifteen years since the end of his rule," Kikyou repeated quietly, much to Akane's bewilderment. Then she looked at Akane briefly before straightening, the calm intelligent glimmer returning to her eyes. "It is nothing, Akane," the Head Priestess said smoothly. "Have you completed your labeling of the plants required for the making of the cooling salve?"

The seventeen-year-old nodded, handing over the parchment with a bit of puzzlement. The Head Priestess of the shrine was acting a bit strange today, but she shrugged it off easily. Actually, the Lady Kikyou was a bit of a mystery. She was the youngest Head in all of the temple's history to date, possibly not more than twenty-six years old, yet she seemed centuries older.

Her thoughts drifted. She hoped the diagrams she had drawn would pass off as actual plants; she had even sought the help of her sisters this time round. Wrinkling her nose slightly at the memory, she remembered how Kasumi had tried so patiently to guide her, while Nabiki simply tried her best not to laugh. Akane sighed.

People said that you could often read a person's personality from his or her calligraphy. When Kasumi made drawings of plants, her ink strokes were warm and gentle, creating diagrams of plants that looked… alive, somehow. Nabiki's strokes, on the other hand, were smooth and crisp, giving rise to confident strong plants. Akane, however… well, let's just say that Akane wasn't all that talented in the art of calligraphy and painting. Most of the time, she would be satisfied if her drawing even bore a faint resemblance to a plant.

Akane turned her attention back to the Head Priestess, hoping that she would pass the test this time.

"This will do," Kikyou murmured, scanning through the diagrams before she gave what could be termed as a smile. Tucking the parchment into her sleeve, she smoothed down the front of her white robes carefully.

"May I leave now, Lady Kikyou?" Akane asked, fidgeting slightly. "I promised to meet Kasumi down by the garden. She said she had something to show me."

"I see," Kikyou said. She gave Akane a long intense look then, and the young woman shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. There was something searching in the Head Priestess's gaze as her eyes, dark and knowing, swept over her form. Abruptly, Kikyou smiled. "Go then," she allowed. "You wouldn't want to keep your sister waiting, would you?"

Akane shook her head. Kikyou was acting a bit weird today.

"I'll see you later, Akane." Without another word, Kikyou turned and left, layers of pure white silk painstakingly embroidered with gold thread streaming in her wake. Akane shrugged, patting down her own robes of white. She never could comprehend the older woman.

Kikyou herself was an enigma: patient but strict, beautiful but aloof. She was elegant in all the ways Akane could not imagine herself to be, right from the way she moved silently down the corridors to the way her hair streamed behind her, every strand in the place where it belonged. She shook her head. It was almost creepy.

In fact, the Shrine Maiden who got along best with the Head Priestess was Kasumi. She felt her lips curving up into a smile. Then again, Kasumi got along with _everyone_. Her oldest sister was so kind and sweet that disappointing her would be an act akin to kicking an injured starving kitten.

Speaking of disappointing Kasumi… Akane glanced out of the window, noting the position of the sun. Wincing at the time, she lifted her robes discretely and took off down the corridor towards the courtyard hurriedly. Hopefully no one would see her; she wouldn't want to get yet _another_ lecture on how Shrine Maidens should behave.

Within moments, her feet hit the soft earth of the gardens, and Akane slowed, breathing in deeply with a happy sigh. The smell of morning dew and wet earth was something that never failed to bring a tiny burst of delight to her; ever since she was a child beginning her training to be a Shrine Maiden, she had always liked spending time in the gardens of the temple. Hurriedly smoothening her robes and long dark hair, Akane slipped through the bushes until she caught sight of Kasumi, bent beneath a large tree.

"You came," Kasumi remarked cheerily as she straightened. "Look at what I've found, Akane." Tenderly she lifted the gray bundle in her arms towards her youngest sister, and Akane giggled, reaching forward with a coo to pat the creature in Kasumi's arms.

"He's so pretty," she mumbled distractedly as she scratched the rabbit behind his ears. "Where did you find him, Kasumi?"

Kasumi smiled, a kind gentle smile. "He comes here every morning… I've been sneaking food out to feed him." She laughed softly. "I was wondering--"

Then it came.

Akane stiffened, her fingers withdrawing from the rabbit. The hairs on her neck were prickling; something was wrong. Then, from behind her there came distant thundering, the promise of imminent danger. She whirled around, startled.

Brown and black was dotting the mountain peaks in the distance.

Akane stared in a mix of horror and fascination, as the mass boiled over the tips of the mountains, and black began to flow over and onto the mountains like an angry frothing liquid. She could pick out, even from this distance, the cries of men, loud and enraged, the glint of shiny metal against the morning sunlight as the armies advanced towards the shrine.

From beside her, Kasumi gave a faint gasp. The rabbit leapt from her arms suddenly and bounded away in fright, and Akane started at the abrupt motion. Jolted by urgency, she grasped Kasumi's wrist and began to pull her towards the shrine hurriedly. Halfway across the courtyard, they broke into a frenzied run towards the white marble pillars of the shrine, slowing down only when they reached shelter. Already there were women scurrying around, confused and frightened.

"Kasumi," Akane said suddenly, and she was afraid at the way her voice caught in her throat. "Kasumi, what's going on?"

Her sister only shook her head uneasily. "I-I don't know, Akane."

"Kasumi, Akane!" They glanced towards the entrance of the shrine, where they could see their sister Nabiki thudding down the steps urgently. She reached them, her face grim and serious. "Get ready to leave," she said gravely. "We're under attack."

She could already hear the horrified echoing from the Maidens around them who had caught Nabiki's words. Around them, some of the women began to fall to their feet, breaking out in frenzied prayer. Others had started to cry, and she could see some of the older women clutching the pillars in support.

It was then that Kikyou appeared at the top of the steps, her face grim as she surveyed the Maidens who had gathered. Lifting her gaze towards the soldiers who were gradually making their way towards the temple, the woman straightened, her eyes burning with something. "Attacking a place of worship and healing," she said suddenly. "Nerima is no more."

They did not understand her words, but they felt the chill that appeared in the air.

Kikyou swept her gaze to the frightened Maidens. "Run," she commanded evenly, but when she received no response, she raised her voice, pointing sharply at the forests that cloaked the mountains.

"Run!" Kikyou snapped harshly. "Run if you value your lives!"

They scattered. Akane did not know who had grabbed hold of her wrist, but she knew that someone was pulling her along insistently. Her feet moved on their own accord and she stumbled in the haste to escape.

They disappeared into the forests, all of them, leaving Kikyou alone on the steps of the stone temple. She watched her Maidens flee, before a long sigh issued from her lips. Whether it was out of relief or exhaustion she did not know, but regardless, the Head Priestess turned to face the soldiers who were headed her way.

"Kikyou!" someone shrieked. She turned around, seeing a familiar figure in white robes coming her way. It frightened her; they were supposed to be gone by now, if any of them stayed with her, they would surely not survive the invasion.

The girl reached her then, breathing heavily. She watched as the young woman grabbed her forearm and began to pull her towards the forest. "Let's go, Kikyou, what are you still doing here?" she gasped, her face sober and unsmiling.

"…Kagome," she addressed after a moment of silence, before prying the younger woman's hands off. "I cannot leave this temple."

"_What_?" the one named Kagome yelled, dropping Kikyou's arm as though it were a hot potato. She straightened, and there was a certain familiar proud arch in the curve of her neck to shoulder. Kikyou felt a ghost of a smile appearing; now was not the time to be observing family resemblances.

"Do you have a death wish?" Kagome raved angrily. "This isn't the time to be joking, Kikyou!"

She smiled faintly, and pushed her cousin towards the forest. "Go, Kagome," she said steadfastly. "I need to remain here… and cast a spell to bring the sisters Kasumi, Nabiki and Akane out of the mountains."

Her cousin stared at her in shock. "What for?"

"There is no time to explain," Kikyou answered simply. "But for the sake of Nerima, it must be done."

There was a moment of stunned incomprehensive silence. Then: "I'm going to trust you on this one, Kikyou."

"Then you will leave now?" Kikyou had never been too close to her cousin. She had not understood the younger woman's ways, so despite growing up together in the same compound, they had little to talk about. But then again,most people did not wish for family to die. She wanted Kagome to leave now; she would probably have a higher chance of survival.

Kagome scoffed. "I knew you never liked me much," she said, but her voice had softened and there was a warm smile in her eyes. "But you're not getting rid of me so easily, cousin." Without a second thought, she grabbed hold of Kikyou's white slender hands.

"…What are you doing?"

"What does it look like?" Kagome answered. "Helping you. Start chanting, and I'll give you whatever help I can."

"Do not make such a decision so lightly, Kagome," she answered, and her eyes were grave and stern. "It is in making decisions like this that your whole life may be changed. You do not understand the danger that comes with every passing second..."

"You talk too much," Kagome cut in lightly, but there was a soft knowing smile on her face. "You're wrong, Kikyou. I do understand what I need to understand, and I think you should really start chanting."

The older woman's eyes flickered with something unidentifiable. Then she smiled, a expression almost tender. Without another word, she let her eyes drift shut and began to draw the threads of energy from the surroundings, and from Kagome, her lips moving in silent chanting.

* * *

She was sweating heavily. 

"Kikyou…" Somewhere through the thick fog she could hear Kagome's voice, distant and labored. "They're coming… Hurry…"

She was almost done. She kept at it with increased fervor. Just a few more seconds, then the spell would have been completed and the sisters lifted out of the mountains to safety…

The pain came sharply then.

In spite of herself, she let out a pained gasp, her concentration broken. Somewhere in her mind, she registered that the arrow tip that had slammed into her back was most probably poisoned.

She felt herself falling, falling forward into the fog. Someone, Kagome, most likely, caught her, and like a desperate woman she tried to grasp at the strands of the spell that were slipping away from her rapidly.

It was not complete. No one could predict the effects of the spell now. Magic had an uncanny tendency to tangle up in itself if it were not done correctly.

It was too late. She let the spell go, slipping away like wisps of smoke.

* * *

Kagome collapsed under the weight of her cousin. Sweat clung to her skin; the spell had taken a lot out of them both. Briefly, she noted that men were beginning to surround her, and for some reason, the motif of their armor stood out strongly. 

She recognized that motif. These were the King's armies.

Her eyes flickered down to Kikyou's prone form. Her cousin was still, unmoving in her arms.

Dazedly she raised her hand and gazed at the red stains that coated her fingers. Kikyou was bleeding.

* * *

They were running, their chests heaving with the effort as they stumbled through the thick forestry. Akane vaguely registered how tight Kasumi's grip on her hand was. 

How long could they keep running?

She didn't have to ponder for long. In the next instant, bright light enveloped them and she felt herself screaming and falling as the light ate into her body. Kasumi's grip on her hand dissolved almost instantly.

Then darkness came from the corner of her vision, and like a cloak it enveloped them all.

* * *

_To be continued_…

* * *

When inspiration strikes, it's hard to ignore it... I'm toying with the idea of putting in Inuyasha characters into the story, although it's too early to say for sure. Should I? Hmm. 

Comments and criticism welcome.


	2. Chapter Two

A/N: Yep, after three months, I'm back. Many thanks for the kind reviews! (: In any case, I've decided that I will add in Inuyasha characters; but they will play very minor roles because I would rather focus on developing the Ranma characters.

It is entirely possible that I might add in a strong Miroku/Sango pairing later in the story, however. I have a soft spot for them heh. (:

Enjoy the chapter. Comments and criticism welcome!

* * *

**Kismet**

**A Ranma ½ Alternate Universe  
****By Andrina**

**Chapter 2

* * *

**

**"**_**Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice;  
it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved."  
**__**-William Jennings Bryan**

* * *

_

The night air was crisp and cold, smarting against the shallow cut on her cheek. Yet, the slender well-built woman paid the cut no attention as she strode forward through the thick forestry. Upon closer observation, one would notice that the young woman's features were pulled into an irate scowl, and that she sported several other wounds all over body.

But perhaps the most puzzling thing about this woman was that she carried a huge weapon of sorts on her back, safely strapped to her tight-fitting blue-gray attire. One might call it a _spatula_, and indeed it was a giant spatula, but what could anyone do with a huge spatula in a fight?

Well, in the hands of this slim brunette, you could do a lot of harm.

It seemed that her anger was getting to her now, for as she encountered a clump of low-hanging vines, she let out an annoyed growl, even going as far as to make an obscene gesture at the vines in vain. Most would have gasped at her behavior; after all, how many young women in the entire kingdom prance around flashing obscene hand gestures, even if they happened to be alone in the forest as night? Even the normal, everyday, peasant girls had more social upbringing than to display this sort of behavior.

But this young woman _wasn't _a normal, everyday, peasant girl.

Instead of backing down on her gesture, the young woman drew a short knife from her belt. With a growl, she began hacking away at the vines that obstructed her in a most unladylike manner. She continued at this for several long moments, all the while muttering murderously under her breath as she hacked. In fact, if anyone had been close enough, within hearing distance, they would have heard her muttering something that went like this:

"…jackass! And just after I _told_ him to source out the place without getting lost… and an ambush! What a load of bull… ought to smack him hard for this… complete waste of resources…"

Then, abruptly, she froze.

In one swift motion, the brown-haired woman slid the knife back into her belt and drew her spatula instead. The annoyance on her features melted away almost instantly, replaced by a look of calm calculating alertness. It was the same look of concentration that she employed to intimidate her opponents in a battle, and she was often proud to say that it worked like a charm.

Except, in this case, her 'opponent' appeared to be unresponsive.

Seconds later, she backed away from the unruly clump of bushes, eyes wide in disbelief. She had expected everything from a hidden assassin to a frightened rabbit, yet nothing could have prepared her for the sight.

There was an unconscious young woman of her age sprawled uncomfortably within the forestry. Despite the darkness, the brunette could make out what appeared to be long inky blue-black hair, and delicate soft features. There was nothing all that fascinating about this woman, although it was to be said that she was quite pretty. But then again, there were a lot of pretty women in this Kingdom. The young woman would have easily passed her off as another peasant girl who had fainted in the forest while on her way to gather some herbs.

But what caught her attention were the clothes the unconscious girl was wearing.

Pristine white robes adorned the girl's slim figure, spread out carelessly over the forest floor. The material seemed to glow in the darkness, and she could see cords of gold at her waist and neck.

She stepped back, her lips pressed together tightly in worry.

This girl was a Maiden.

A Maiden who, judging by her regular breathing, was still alive.

A Maiden who should rightfully have been captured or dead ever since the attack launched by the King on the Temple several days ago.

_Oh no._

For several long moments, she stared at the unmoving Maiden, wondering which course of action she should take. She could hurry back to headquarters and get back to her original task of skinning Ryoga alive for giving away their position to the King's soldiers, but that would mean leaving the girl to die. Or she could stop and bring the girl along, although that would mean adding on even more risks to their 'organization'. King Dasier had spared no effort in placing notices offering huge sums of money to those who brought in any Maidens his Imperial Army might have missed; in return, death was surely the penalty for harboring a Maiden.

Finally, she snorted. There really was no decision here. Bending down, she lifted the girl up carefully, grunting a little with the effort. Granted, the comatose young woman was not that heavy, but still, it had been a long day and she was tired. Shifting her weight, she heaved her into a piggyback of sorts and began to walk on. In response to the movement, the woman let out a soft moan and slumped back down heavily.

She sighed, mentally prepping herself for the rest of the long walk back to headquarters.

She was sure Ranma wouldn't mind an extra Maiden or two in the village. Just knowing the fact that it was an act of rebellion against dear old _His Majesty_ was enough.

* * *

"…You didn't."

Ukyo stretched, flexing her muscles absent-mindedly. The walk back home had been long, and she wasn't feeling up to arguing with Ranma. "I'm afraid I did, Ran-chan," she quipped cheerfully. "We'll just have to put her up in one of the other cottages for the night. She's too sick to go anywhere else."

She swept her gaze quickly over the tall young man standing by the fireplace. Dark-haired with a physique to die for, Saotome Ranma was not someone to mess with. At the moment, however, their leader was rubbing his temple in exasperation. "But damn it, Ukyo, don't you understand how this might be bringing more attention to this village?" he said angrily.

They were in a village somewhere in Nerima's remote south. Few ever came to this part of the Kingdom, and the original inhabitants of the village lived most of their lives quietly farming and tending to their own needs. Until a few months ago, a large number of people had quietly trickled into the village and made it a temporary home. Makeshift houses were built, and the villagers welcomed them. They did not interfere in the rebels' activities, but they helped when they could.

Even in an area as rural as this, King Dasier was still hated.

They were rebels, young and determined. They had no name, nor any particular strategy of rebellion, but as it was, that was their policy of silence. They simply called themselves 'rebels' and that was good enough.

It was known, however, that a man named Saotome Ranma led them. How he looked like, where he came, what were his motives… well, those were questions to be answered in another time.

In a few months, the villagers knew, the rebels would trickle silently away from the village they currently resided in, as quietly as they had come, in search of a new temporary home. They would leave in small groups, in the oddest times of the days, and one day the villagers would wake up to find nothing more than empty clean houses and a heap of thank-you gifts at the door of the Headman.

But at present, the brown-haired woman ignored their leader, being used to his ways. Years of working together had earned her the pigtailed young man's close friendship. "Be sensible, Ranma," she butted in, all business now. "She is a Maiden. Where else can she go?"

Ranma sighed. "That's precisely what I'm getting at. She's a _Maiden_. She can't fight, or scout, or even defend herself. Plus, people all over the Kingdom will be fighting among themselves to turn her in. We're putting ourselves in danger by letting her stay," he said firmly. "She has to go. The soldiers are getting suspicious of this village already. Besides, we ain't some kind of a charity organization. This is serious stuff, Ukyo, I thought you, of all people, would know that."

"Ranma…" Ukyo answered, this time putting in a note of persuasion into her voice. "Stop being unreasonable. There are other talents a person can have, you dolt. Just let her stay the night, will you?" Seeing his look of frustration, she continued hastily. "Think of it this way, we're defying Dasier. She's unconscious anyway; we can't just turn her onto the streets."

He was wavering, she could see. Ukyo drew her trump card. With a sickly sweet smile, she added, "Please?"

Ranma fell to the ground.

"All right," he muttered gruffly. "But just one night."

"Thanks," Ukyo called, leaving his room. "Oh yeah, have you seen Ryoga?"

"Ryoga?" Ranma blinked, and in the orange glow of the fire in his room, Ukyo suddenly realized how much her friend had grown over the years. When they first started out on the idea of a rebellion, it had just been the two of them. Ranma was an impatient rash boy of fourteen, angry and coarse-mouthed, while she was his adoring right-hand man.

That was right, she remembered having the biggest crush on the handsome boy.

Yet, over the brief period of three rocky years, he had become the confident quick-thinking leader of them all, and the two-man rebellion had grown considerably in size, blooming into a stealthy network all over the Kingdom. And all this time, Ranma had grown. Of course, he was still as coarse-mouthed and strong-willed as ever, but hey, one couldn't wish for miracles, could they?

Ukyo had stayed even after her crush had waned, simply glad that she had such a brave determined friend.

"Uc-chan? Uc-chan, are you listening to me?" She started at his voice, then grinned sheepishly to him. Ranma snorted. "I said, Ryoga's at the village baths. Say, what're ya looking for him for?"

_To skin him alive_. "Nothing, much, just wanted to say hi," Ukyo smiled sweetly.

Across the village, Ryoga's eye began to twitch incessantly. He shivered.

"Oh." Ranma seemed to think about this for a moment, then: "Hey, could you bring up the scouting disaster to him? You will be firm with him, won't you?" _Translation: Skin him alive for me, if you would be so kind._

Ukyo's grin stretched. "Oh, I'll be nice to him. Ryoga can be such a jackass." _Translation: Don't worry, I'll skin him alive then chop him up and feed him to the field mice._

Ranma smiled. "Right. See ya in the morning then." _Translation: Leave his head intact and bring it back to me so I can carve it up myself._

Ukyo nodded, setting off towards the village baths at a leisurely pace. "Goodnight, Ran-chan."_ Translation: Gladly._

The door fell shut gently, and Ranma gave a snort. "There goes Ryoga," he muttered sarcastically, grinning slightly. Dropping into his seat by the fireplace, he drew in a deep breath and brought his hand up to massage his temple.

The day had been long.

First Ryoga had screwed up the scouting, eliminating the possibility of them stealing supplies from the Army's store several miles away anytime soon, then Ukyo had come and dragged a sick comatose girl back into the village.

It wasn't easy leading a rebellion and all. Sure, it seemed all fun and adventure, but Ranma soon found out the hard way: there was _danger_ in it all. Beneath all that excitement, there was pure solid cold danger involved, and he was a fool to forget that.

He never forgot the first time he lost a man.

He had been fifteen, a mere boy really, and the rebellion was just more or less beginning to shape up. The kid who had come along for the ride was slightly younger than him, a kitchen boy who had escaped from one of those pompous Lords' kitchens. Up till this very day, he couldn't, for the life of him, remember what exactly had happened, but he did know that what had begun as a simple routine trip to steal supplies from one of the Imperial Army's various stores around the Kingdom had backfired badly.

He remembered holding that kid deep within the bushes as he thrashed wildly, red staining the spot in the tunic where an arrow had struck. Then the boy stilled, and that was it.

Later, when the fight had subsided, Ukyo helped to bury the boy under a large pine tree. They bowed in respect, mumbling prayers, and then Ukyo turned to him, eyes sad: "I'm sorry, Ranma," she had said quietly. "But it's not your fault."

He hadn't said anything. But from that day onwards, he made sure he taught every single person who joined the rebels the Art.

He stopped suddenly, opening his eyes. The fire was still burning, yet Ranma had never felt more troubled. It was as though something was hovering at the back of his mind, trying to warn him, but for the life of him he could not pull it out into the open.

Why had he even started out on this rebellion?

He paused.

He knew why he started.

That was when Ranma got to his feet, unwilling to think anymore about the subject.

Well, he guessed he'd better take a look at that sick unconscious Maiden Ukyo kept talking about. He had made it a rule to take a personal look at every single person brought into the rebels, and if this girl was going to be living off them for a while, it was enough to ensure that he check her out properly to make sure she wasn't some kind of spy or threat to them.

Stepping out of his makeshift house, he began padding down the village path casually. The night air was cold; he reckoned it was already past the witching hour. Navigating his way past several houses, he made his way to one of the smaller ones on his right, stopping to rap softly on the door.

Immediately the door opened and a slim young woman peeked out. Seeing Ranma, she straightened and bowed slightly. "Saotome," she greeted quietly. "Have you come for…?"

Ranma nodded in response, absent-mindedly tugging at his pigtail. The woman was one of the orphans from another village who had decided to join the rebels when they had stopped by. From what he remembered, her whole village had been destroyed by bandits, and she was the lone bloody survivor. She was seemingly slender and weak, yet when he saw her in action against looters trying to steal from the dead, he had nodded approvingly at the potential. She joined them days afterwards, a quiet serious girl who had never really seemed to get over the death of her family.

"She's asleep, and very weak," the woman commented quietly. "I'll be outside then."

"Thanks, Sango," Ranma answered, stepping past the young woman. She nodded once, and then took a step soundlessly into the night. He paused to gaze at her briefly; that Sango woman was a sad one. Shrugging, he stepped deeper into the small one-room makeshift house, moving over to the still form that lay on one of the two makeshift beds.

Then he paused.

She was a slender young woman, no more than a girl, really. He would put her between the ages of fourteen to seventeen, and she couldn't possibly be older than him. Long blue-black hair fanned out around her sleeping form, wisps landing softly on her pale smooth cheeks and all the time she breathed in and out deeply.

Quite pretty, he thought grudgingly, but of little use to the rebels. She didn't have the look of a martial artist at all, he found himself thinking, although that was to be expected. After all, didn't Maidens prance around in the mountains and pick herbs or something? She was probably one of those demure types who fainted at the sight of centipedes and spoke in equally soft demure tones.

Sango had put her into simple peasant clothes, although he caught sight of glowing, if a little soiled, robes of white folding neatly in a corner. On top that little white pile were several cords of varying thickness, as well as several folded pieces of parchment.

On a whim, Ranma swiped one of the parchments and opened it carelessly, scanning through briefly. It was nothing extraordinary, just a parchment with a few painstakingly detailed sketches of some sort of plant. Yep, herb-lovers. Tree-huggers too, he bet. With a snort, he tossed the parchment back to the rest, turning his attention to the dozing young woman.

She would have to go. Ukyo might complain, but he could always tune her out. Ranma turned to leave, satisfied and already looking forward to some rest.

That was when he whirled around suddenly, taking in the eerie bluish light that had enveloped the sleeping girl's form.

Then all hell broke loose.

* * *

Akane felt as though someone had pushed her face into a huge thick wad of cotton while she struggled in vain to breathe.

For a moment everything seemed to turn hot and red, and she gasped, fighting instinctively. She was choking and choking and if she didn't do something she was going to die and oh gods she couldn't breathe why couldn't she breathe and things were grabbing at her hands even as she tried so hard to press them to her throat and—

"Fuck, wake up, lady!"

As abruptly as that unfamiliar urgent male voice cut into the red haze that was choking her, she felt herself being yanked forward, out of the red and into frightening crisp blue. She gasped then, sucking in a breath so deep that she started to cough, her shoulders shaking madly.

Then the red around the edges of her vision faded and she was left staring wide-eyed at the tense gaze of an unfamiliar young man.

* * *

"Saotome!"

Ranma glanced up fractionally, just in time to see an apprehensive Sango burst into the room. The young woman's gaze flicked quickly to him, then to the coughing and shaking girl who was now gripping the sheets in blind white-knuckled terror. Immediately she moved over, and he could sense that subtle seamless transformation from Sango, rebel to Sango, caregiver.

Moving away, he allowed the woman to move beside the Maiden. Sango began speaking in low hushed tones, but the girl seemed almost catatonic in her behavior, refusing to release the sheets even as she coughed and struggled for breath.

He spared the girl one last look before stepping out hurriedly of the house.

* * *

The night air was cooler, crisper, and for that Ranma was glad. Letting out a frustrated sigh, he ran his fingers though his thick black hair agitatedly.

Nope, his day was not going well at all.

All he had wanted to do before rounding up his day was to check out the mysterious unconscious Ukyo had brought back to their Headquarters, then go straight to bed and try not to mope over how Ryoga had screwed up the important mission, or where they were going to move to next. Instead, he had entered Sango's house just in time to see the girl start choking violently in her sleep and glowing- _glowing_, of all things! - a bright eerie blue.

In sheer shock, he had reacted instinctively, grabbing her and yanking her into a sitting position. The moment he made contact with her skin, the blue glow had dissipated harmlessly into the air and she had awoken, giving him the first glimpse of bewildered frightened honey brown.

That was no battle aura. Ranma's brow furrowed in deep thought, his curiosity finally intrigued.

Who was she? And more importantly, why on earth did she start emitting creepy blue light?

He already had a hunch about the light, though… He was willing to bet a pouch of gold that it had something to do with magic of some sorts. Either someone had placed some spell on her, or she was one of those people who had been born with strong powers of the paranormal, and as far as he knew, Maidens could do weak magic, but rarely had the ability to conjure up something of this scale… unless, well he could check it out; they had one or two mages within the rebels…

"Saotome."

Ranma turned around to see Sango. The young woman's expression was somewhat perturbed. "Is she all right now?" he asked without thinking.

Sango nodded, but still her expression remained disturbed. "How," she began to ask.

Ranma shrugged. "No idea," he admitted. "I'll get someone to do a bit of research tomorrow morning, but in the meantime keep an eye on her." _If she does have powers of any sort, it would boost us in the fight against the King._ "Send her over to my quarters tomorrow morning, okay?"

Sango nodded. "Got it," she answered. "Oh, and Saotome?"

He paused. "Yeah?"

"Her name is Akane." Why Sango felt a need to tell him this, Ranma was not sure. But he filed it away carelessly anyway.

"Okay. See you tomorrow, Sango."

"Goodnight, Saotome." He waited until she had reentered the house and shut the door lightly with a firm click.

Then Ranma turned on his heal and began a brisk walk back to his quarters. Tomorrow, he was sure, would be an equally long day.

* * *

_To be continued…

* * *

_


	3. Chapter Three

A/N: Exams came. Exams killed. Exams gone. Hooray. And here's Chapter 3. (:

**

* * *

**

**Kismet  
A Ranma ½ Alternate Universe  
By Andrina**

**Chapter 3**

* * *

"_**It is choice—not chance—that determines our destiny."  
**__**-Jean Nidetch**_**_

* * *

_**

"Sango said you wanted to see me." 

The young man raised a steely blue gaze to her, and Akane pressed her lips tightly, recognizing him as the one who had grabbed her and pulled her out of the choking red haze. He seemed entirely calm, but there was something she couldn't quite put her finger on about his stance. He seemed… wary, perhaps? She ignored the thought and straightened in response to it.

She wanted answers. She was burning with the want, the _need_ for answers. She wouldn't let him cow her out of it.

Sango had not told her much ever since she had woken up. The furthest the girl would say was that she was in a village far from the mountains where the Maidens had dwelled all their lives, and that she was safe. Yet, she could not provide the information that Akane wanted most: What happened to her sisters and fellow Maidens, or how she had ended up in this village.

There was something, however, in Sango's gaze as she tended to her, and Akane had firmly refused to acknowledge the quiet empathy in her eyes. Empathy was not required, unless…

Sango did say, however, that their 'leader' wanted to speak to her first thing in the morning. Akane had assumed that Sango had been referring to the Village Headman, and had agreed. After all, she did say they were in a village, weren't they?

They had spent the night talking quietly. Akane did not want to sleep; perhaps from anxiety, perhaps from that burning desire to have her questions answered. Sango had stayed awake, making light conversation and getting her some food. The young woman was about her age, Akane guessed, maybe a little older, and while she was a bit on the quiet serious side, Sango was quite a sweet girl. Akane had been grateful to Sango for tending to her so carefully and patiently, and also for being willing to bear the night out with her.

The night seemed especially long that night. She spent much of it glancing out the windows at the darkness, and after what seemed like an eternity, she was relieved to spot the first dim glimmer of light creeping out from over the forest tops.

A while after the sun had risen over the horizon, and life took hold of the village once more, Sango made the request for Akane to pay visit to their 'leader'. She set off willingly at Sango's request, sensing that the girl had other matters to tend to, and in any case, it would give her some time to herself. So she prepared to make her way down the village. It's the house with a dark red door, Sango had said. You can't miss it.

So she went.

The weak sunlight was pleasantly warm on her skin, and Akane walked slowly, turning curious gazes to the people around her. The village was a small close-knitted one, she deduced, judging from the way the housewives called out to each other in friendly greeting as they passed. Already the children were up, and it was with barely-concealed delight that she watched several tots tumble around fresh mud while giggling madly, much to the exasperation of the mothers and older sisters who hovered nearby.

For some time she stood in the middle of the path, feeling the feeling of soft earth beneath her covered feet, staring at the obliviously blissful villagers and them being so happy.

But it was time to go, so reluctantly, Akane tore her eyes away from the sight of children and continued on her way. Most of the people she passed did not seem to give her a second glance, although one or two did give her a curious look, to which she bit her lip and patted down the peasant clothing she was dressed in self-consciously. It was odd, not wearing the robes of a Maiden after so many years. She missed the white of her robes, so smoothly white and pure that it seemed to glow in the dark; the pallid brown she was wearing now did not suit her a bit.

The thought sent a heaviness sinking on her heart. Akane bit her lip… Where were her sisters?

But here she was, in the quarters of a young man with a pigtail whom Sango had called 'leader'.

Akane's eyes narrowed as she gave him a quick once-over. Well, one thing was for sure: _he_ definitely wasn't some Village Headman. Weren't Village Headmen supposed to be old and wrinkled and wise? This guy couldn't possibly be one or two years older than her at the most, and judging by the brooding look he was giving her, Akane was beginning to feel more than a little uncomfortable.

"Sango said you wanted to see me," Akane repeated. Then, uncomfortable with the odd silence that seemed to cloak them both, she turned her attention to the wooden carvings on the desk. Long and intricately entwining within the warm smooth oak of the desk, she could pick out leaves and vines and branches and…

The young man glanced at her, and then stood up with a sigh, tucking his hands behind his head. Moving until he was right in front of her, he gave a slight nod. "Saotome Ranma," he said simply.

Saotome Ranma, she repeated. Then, realizing it was a request for her name, she returned the nod. "Akane," she answered.

Ranma's brow furrowed slightly, but she did not notice, so preoccupied was she in the carvings in his table. "No last name?" he said lightly, and she did not notice it either when his stare intensified. Usually, a lack of a last name made tracking people down so much harder…

The small polite smile on her face slipped a little at his question.

How could she give him a last name when she herself had never met her parents?

All her life she had been living in the mountains, training to be a Maiden. The only real family Akane had ever known was her two sisters; she had always considered the other Maidens as family. Her sisters and her had never had a last name, and all her time, cocooned within the warmth of the other Maidens, it had never seemed necessary in the first place.

After all, if she were wanted, then the others would just call her 'Akane'. Who would attach a last name to it anyway?

For a while back then, she had always wondered about her parents. There were two possible scenarios; Nabiki had once told her flatly. Either they were orphans taken in to be raised by Maidens, or their parents had more or less turned them out onto the streets.

She had been angry at first, upset that Nabiki could be so callous about it. Either they died, or they were heartless bastards, her sister had bit out, and Akane had shrunk back in hurt. She had been angry for a while, until Kasumi took her aside, and pressed her warm fingers to Akane's wet cheeks softly. "Don't be angry," she had said simply, in that sweet kind way that only Kasumi could pull off. "It's Nabiki's way of showing that she cares." Then she had wiped the hot tears away, and pressed a loving kiss to her twelve-year-old sister's forehead.

She felt her eyes grew hot then, and she sucked in a deep breath, making it go away.

Akane had always hoped it was the former. Being abandoned was… something that she did not take kindly to.

She brought herself back to the present. This guy didn't need to know all of this.

"No last names," she repeated to Ranma. "Never known of one."

He must have seen the unhappiness that had fallen gradually over her features, because he caught on to the idea and did not pursue it any further. "All right, then," Ranma said casually. "I'm going to be straight to the point with you, because I have other things to do and I think we should get this done and over with, so I'm going to need you to answer a few questions…"

_I'm going to need you to answer a few questions_.

Instantly, the cogs in her mind began to turn. Oh yes, living with Nabiki had resulted in her picking up a few habits, least of all the ability to think quickly.

Ranma was still in the middle of beating around the bush when she cut in. "A deal," Akane interrupted him, her tone serious. "I want to make you a deal."

Ranma blinked. "And what exactly is this deal?" he asked, staring at the young woman before him.

Akane straightened, pushing a stray lock of blue-black hair over her shoulders. Her confidence mounting, she gave a small smile. "I'll answer your questions, in exchange for you answering some of mine," she said.

He seemed to think about this for a moment or two, his expression turning guarded. But try as he might, he could not figure out if there was any hint of a threat in the slim petite figure of the Maiden before him. Finally he agreed, giving her a nod.

"But you will answer my questions first," he said, and it was an order, not a request.

Akane shrugged. It didn't really matter to her. All she wanted to know was what had happened to the other Maidens, and she had a feeling that Saotome Ranma, being the leader around here, would at least be able to provide her with details of some sort. She let out a long sigh, and for a moment, Ranma looked a bit guilty at interrogating her.

"Look, I hope you understand why I'm doing this…" he started, but she waved it away.

"It's okay," she said anyway. She already had a sneaky suspicion about exactly what type of organization he was leading…

"Okay…" Ranma seemed to think hard for a moment before snapping his fingers. "Tell me everything about how you came to be here."

Akane looked puzzled. "But Sango said someone brought me here…"

"Not that!" he interrupted with annoyance. "I meant, how you ended up all unconscious and everything." He paused, and then continued. "Oh, and while you're at it, I want a brief outline of your life."

She fiddled with a long lock of her hair uncomfortably, a habit she had picked up since she was young. "I don't understand what that has to do with…"

"You said you'd answer my questions…" he cut in firmly, and Akane sighed in defeat.

"Fine," she answered. Tossing the hair over her shoulders, she cleared her throat and took up a casual position against the wall. "My name is Akane, and I don't have a last name, so there. I'll turn seventeen this summer, and I've been a Maiden since I could remember," she recited dully.

Then, for a moment, Akane hesitated, wavering briefly before continuing with a determined look. "I have two older sisters, Kasumi and Nabiki and…" she paused, seemingly considering her words. At last she shook her head slightly, "…Never mind.

"Anyway, this brings me to what I wanted to ask you. You see, up in the mountains we don't really have that much contact with the outside world. But one morning, there came some sort of… some sort of attack on the Temple." Her eyes darkened, and Ranma noted with grimness the way her fingers curled tightly into her skirts.

"Our Head Priestess told us to run, so we did… but…" Akane paused, thinking hard.

"The only thing I remember was running down the mountain with Kasumi and Nabiki, but then something strange happened, and after that…" her voice trailed off, and she pursed her lips tightly, sifting through her mental recollections as quickly as she could. Finally she shook her head. "I don't know what happened after that, and then I guessed I must have blanked out."

"You said something 'strange' happened?" he pressed, still unsatisfied.

Akane nodded slowly. "Yeah…" She could bring back the faint frightening memory of inky black devouring her limbs greedily, bringing with it a tingly not-quite-painful sensation. "It was like I was being... _eaten_ by blackness or something…"

Ranma gave a slight nod, thinking over her words. He might not know much about sorcery and whatnot, but he was pretty sure someone had put her under a spell of sorts. Moving back slightly, he nodded to her, signaling the end of his questions.

He might be a warrior, but over the years Ranma had developed a pretty good eye for people: whether they were kind or cruel, whether they were dangerous or harmless, whether they were honest or deceitful, whether they were loyal to their last breath or they would flee at the first whiff of danger.

And right now, his intuition was telling him that this Akane girl was being honest with him, and that she was perfectly harmless to the rebels. In fact, she might even be useful to them.

"Can you tell me about the attack…?" her voice broke into his thoughts. Automatically, Ranma could pick up the hesitation and wariness in her subdued tone, and he thought, it was hesitation well deserved. This was not going to be pretty.

"You might want to prepare yourself for this," he said to Akane, not unkindly. They were strangers, yes, but he thought he would spare her this bit of consideration. After all, didn't she say she had two sisters who were Maidens as well?

Akane paled. "Oh no," she muttered softly. "It's not going to be a good thing, is it?"

"No, it's not," he replied after a moment of thought. She paled even more, if that were possible, and out of the corner of his eye, Ranma could see her fingers tightening on her skirts once more.

"A few days ago, we got news that the Imperial Army launched an attack on your Temple," he began. His tone was crisp and flatly neutral; it was, to Ranma, merely an act of the regurgitating of information. "_His Majesty_ Dasier,"-Here, he could not keep the sarcasm and bitterness out of his voice- "Ordered all Maidens to be captured and killed. Of course, what this means is that the old and ugly get killed and dumped in the forests by the soldiers. The pretty young ones get hauled back to the Palace to become Dasier's whores.

"As of today, soldiers are crawling every main village in the Kingdom, on the lookout of Maidens who have escaped capture. Dasier's been putting up rewards to anyone who turns in a Maiden, so if I were you I wouldn't wear those robes anytime soon." He fell silent then, watching the young woman before him.

He could not see her eyes; they were being obscured by thick locks of blue black that fell into her face as she turned her gaze to the ground.

He saw, however, the way her fingers were shaking as she tried to maintain the grip on her plain brown skirts.

"Survivors," the word tumbled from her lips, and Ranma winced mentally at the pleading in her voice. "Are there survivors?"

"None that we know of," he answered quietly.

She began to shake. In the most pitiful voice Ranma could imagine, she asked, "…My sisters?"

He looked down. "I'm sorry," he offered, and it had to be the most redundant reply he had ever made. Akane drew in a deep shuddering breath.

"Why?" The word was quiet and would nearly have been lost in the silence of the room had it not been for Ranma's sharp hearing.

"Dasier claims that the Maidens were corrupted and that they were practicing witchcraft up in the mountains. He said they were planning a revolt against his rule." The words came out before he could think about it, and a disbelieving gasp shook itself out of the distraught girl.

"That's… that's ridiculous!" she snapped lividly. Ranma took a step back, watching almost fearfully as all the grief in her slender petite form drained away into disbelieving anger. Akane stiffened, and within seconds she was gripping her skirts in fury, her eyes enraged.

"We would have never done such a thing!" she gritted out, stepping forward. Ranma shrank back, eyes wide. "How could he have attacked us for something we didn't do? It's ridiculous!" Her voice was rising with every angry syllable, and now it was a furious yell.

"I know, I know!" Ranma yelled back, taking a few steps back before she could advance further. "Jeez, lady, you're taking your anger out on the wrong people here!"

Instantly, her anger evaporated at his words and Akane slumped down back into her grief. "I'm… I'm sorry," she mumbled. "I'm just… overwhelmed at this and… I'm sorry, I'll go now…" she trailed off, looking lost.

Ranma heaved a sigh of relief silently. As much as he could understand her rage and grief, she was getting a bit intimidating when she got angry. He just hoped she wouldn't start crying; he could never deal with crying girls.

"Never mind," he offered awkwardly, taking a step forward as she turned to go. "It's okay, I understand. It's all part of Dasier's tyranny; after all how could Maidens ever think of revolting and practicing witchcraft? You're all a bunch of herb-lovers anyway, you ladies couldn't do anything else even if you tried…"

He continued talking; missing the way Akane froze in her steps.

"Excuse me?" her voice faltered, before sliding deceptively into sweet honeyed tones. "You were saying?"

"Huh?" Ranma looked around, confused. "I meant, all you guys care about are the herbs right? So you wouldn't know how to do anything else…"

Akane _twitched_.

Seconds later, the young woman was stomping out of the house, leaving a prone Saotome Ranma twitching violently under the impact of several stools.

* * *

"So let me get this straight…" Ukyo said slowly. "You called her and her Maidens herb-lovers and said they couldn't do anything else right after she found out she's probably the only survivor of the attack?" 

Ranma nodded slightly with a scowl, poking gingerly at the purpling bruise on his arm.

Ukyo leapt up from where she was polishing her giant spatula and heaved an exasperated sigh. Much to Ranma's chagrin, the young woman smacked him on the head. "You're an idiot, Ran-chan!" she exclaimed in frustration. "And here I thought Ryoga was useless around women!"

"Hey!" came the indignant reply from their bandanna-sporting youth. They ignored him.

"Well it's true!" Ranma argued, rubbing the spot when Ukyo had hit him. "She's pretty much useless when you put her next to the rebels, ain't it?"

"You're such an elitist," Ukyo chided in annoyance. Huffing, she planted her hands on her hips and lowered her tone. "She's grieving over the loss of her only family, Ran-chan," she tried again.

Her features hardened, and instantly Ukyo knew it was not going to get through to the pigtailed young man. "Deal with it," came his flat reply, and inwardly she sighed. He rose fluidly. "She's not the only person who's lost a family member or two to Dasier. We all have."

It was a heavy silence that greeted Ranma's coarse remarks.

"Knock it off, bastard," said Ryoga quietly, from where he was polishing his metal spikes. Ranma looked away.

Ukyo dropped her gaze, knowing that despite his harsh words, Ranma did understand. After all, Akane wasn't the only one hurting… Hoping to reach out to that empathy within her friend, she raised carefully, "But it's painful to each and every one who has to go through it, isn't that so, Ran-chan?"

She watched, with a tiny spark of victory as grudging agreement dawned on Ranma's features. Yet…

"Feh," he muttered. "I'm going to check on the new recruits' training. Suit yourselves." Before they could say another word he left the room.

"Stubborn as a mule," Ukyo muttered. Despite years of friendship with Ranma, even she got frustrated with his obstinacy something. Getting to her feet, she beckoned to Ryoga, who rose without a second word. "Come on, jackass," she sighed, eliciting a glare from her companion. "Let's go look for that Akane girl."

_Women_, Ryoga thought, and went along.

* * *

Akane drew in a deep breath, ignoring the little beads of sweat that had trickled down her face. It was two hours past noon now, and she had gone the whole day without food or drink, yet she was not in the least bothered. 

She gulped in another breath, trying so hard to hold in the deep burning anger within her, trying and trying but then it was beginning to bubble out from her, just like how it had been bubbling out for the past four hours… With a furious scream, she lashed out, driving her fist into the nearest tree trunk in white-hot fury.

There was a resounding 'thud' as her fist made contact. The wood splintered violently.

Akane pulled back, breathing heavily. Through her sweat, she grinned humorlessly at the abused tree. Glancing down, she noted with grim detachment how her knuckles were bleeding badly.

It stung, Akane thought.

When she had been young, she had always been a particularly active tomboyish child. She liked running around the mountains, she adored tree-climbing, and she hated anything that involved her having to sit still for more than half an hour at a stretch. It was because of this that she ended up with bruised knees and torn robes, and she remembered sniffling pitifully and running in search of tender comfort whenever she was faced with a newly scraped knee.

It was in times like those that Kasumi would take her aside quietly and chide her gently. At that time, they were much too young to make their own healing salves, so Nabiki, being the sneaky devious girl that she was, would easily get hold of some healing salve from the older Maidens (if she couldn't talk them into giving her some, then it was a simple matter of filching some).

Then Kasumi would spread the salve on tenderly, with that sweet smile, and Nabiki would watch and make jibes at her for being such a tomboy. Then Kasumi would step in with a gentle admonishment of "Nabiki!", and Nabiki would grin and stick out her tongue and Akane would smile amid her tears and glares because she knew Nabiki didn't really mean it anyway and…

Akane fell to the ground and drew her knees up to her chin tightly. Biting her lip, she began to cry.

* * *

"Looks like we found her," Ukyo said softly. She moved forward slightly towards the sobbing girl, but before she could make any significant leeway, Ryoga grabbed by the waist and held her back, shaking his head. 

Ukyo glanced back, intending to tug her hand away when she caught the look on Ryoga's face. For the first time in a long time, he looked completely serious, and she ducked her gaze slightly at the empathy and hurting that lurked beneath his gaze.

She didn't want to go into that again. Not now.

"Leave her alone," he insisted seriously. "She wouldn't want us anywhere near."

Ukyo hesitated, and then nodded. "All right. Come on, jackass; let's go."

* * *

"Sango?" 

There was no reply from within the house. Akane peered around before pressing her lips tightly together, rapping lightly on the door once more.

"Sango, are you in there?" her voice wavered slightly.

Still, there was no reply. She took it that the young woman was somewhere else within the village. With a grimace, Akane turned and broke out at a slow jog down the village.

Her knuckles were still stinging. She could feel warm blood dripping slightly. With a despondent sigh, she swung her gaze around her. Where could she get a bit of healing salve in this village?

Raising an arm to wipe away at the traces of sweat, dirt and tears on her cheeks, Akane headed towards the edge of the village, towards the forests. She had no wish to walk up to any one of the occupied houses and ask for some clean water and salve. One look at her dirty wet face and she would become the recipient of many startled and concerened looks.

She didn't want that now. She wanted to be alone.

So it was with this thought in mind that she slipped quietly into the bushes and walked on. She did not want to meet anymore. Not now.

And, well, if she couldn't get bandages around here, then she would make her own salve.

It was only when she picked up the first traces of yelling that her head snapped up in curious wariness. Picking up speed, Akane hurried up towards the source of the noise.

Then she stopped dead in her tracks.

Before her, down a little slope, was a large clearing in the forest. And in this clearing, there were nearly a dozen young men and women, engaged in fierce silent fighting.

Her jaw dropped. What the…?

Soreness and low spirits forgotten, she let her gaze wander freely over the forms below her. Fascinated, Akane watched in mounting wonder as the men and women exchanged blows furiously. She saw Sango, her face drawn in concentration, striking out intensely at her opponent, a slim small-sized girl who dodged the blow just as quickly. She danced away lightly, and just as Sango darted forward, the girl raised her fist and—

_To the right!_ Something inside her yelled. _Sango, watch out!_

But alas, the young woman took the blow with a grunt, but before Akane could even groan, her friend was striking out successfully at the girl.

"Enough!"

Akane's gaze flew over. There, at the edge of the group of men and women, stood Ranma in all his bare-chested glory. The fighters ended their sparring instantly, turning their attention.

Her lip curled. She would never forget the way he…

"That's enough for today. Move into your cool-down kata," he directed.

In perfect synchronization, the group began executing a series of fluid movements. That was it; she could not keep her eyes off them. And despite herself, she had to admit that among them all, Ranma was obviously the most skilled of them all.

Except for 'fluid', Akane had no other word to describe his movement.

"Impressive, aren't they?"

Akane whirled around, coming face to face with a young couple of her age. The man was tall and stocky, sporting a bandanna around his head. He grinned politely at her, and she hesitated a moment before managing a weak smile in return. The girl was tall and slender, clad simply in fighting attire. Disturbingly, though, there was a humongous spatula strapped to her back. She was the one who had spoken, and now she smiled warmly at Akane.

"It's nice to meet you," the girl continued, sticking out a hand to Akane. "You probably don't remember me, sugar, but the name's Kuonji Ukyo. I'm the one who found you unconscious in the bushes. This is Ryoga." She gestured, and Ryoga nodded politely.

Ukyo smiled brightly then, and Akane found herself smiling slightly. She took the hand and shook it.

"I'm Akane," she said, but before she could say anything else, Ukyo frowned and raised her hands up.

"You're bleeding!" exclaimed the brunette.

Embarrassed, Akane pulled her hand away. "It's nothing," she told her. "I was just looking for some herbs to make my own healing salve anyway. Don't worry about it."

"Oh no, you don't," Ukyo declared. "Why make a salve when we have fresh bandages and clean water waiting? Come on, Akane; let's go over to Ryoga's place. He's got some salve left over."

And efore Akane could say anything else, Ukyo had grasped her wrist firmly and started dragging her back in the direction of the village.

Despite what Ranma had said about Akane not being able to do anything else, Ukyo had seen raw impressive strength when she saw Akane striking out at the tree trunk. In any case, the ability to heal was no laughable feat, and judging by what she could see of Akane's current situation, it would only be a matter of time before the young Maiden joined the rebels.

And, Ukyo guessed, she would make a formidable ally.

Until then, it would do no harm to start treating the girl as one of them. The girl was in grieving anyway, and as far as the rebels were concerned, they always helped one another out when it came to alleviating grief and pain.

"Come on, Akane," she found herself saying encouragingly. "Let's taken a look at those wounds."

* * *

"Are you hungry, Akane?" 

She looked up at Ukyo, and then turned her face away slightly at the look of concern etched so clearly on the young woman's face. "No, I'm not," she answered. "Thank you," she added as an afterthought.

Ukyo pursed her lips together tightly. "Don't you want some food, sugar? I make the best okonomiyaki around in these parts," she declared, a note of truthful pride creeping into her voice.

Akane smiled slightly at her words then. After a moment of thinking, she finally nodded in agreement. "Okay," she conceded.

Ukyo grinned, getting to her feet. "Come on," she beckoned. "It's about time to get dinner ready anyway."

Leading Akane out of Ryoga's quarters, they bid goodbye to the young man, who sent them off with a smile and a wave. Barely two steps out of the door, however, Ukyo froze in her tracks and spun around.

"You'll be coming around later, won't you, Ryoga? We have something important to discuss."

The meaningful look she gave him escaped Akane's notice. Ryoga, on the other hand, caught it and Ukyo smiled in satisfaction as recognition dawned on his face.

_Something important to discuss. _

He knew what _that_ meant.

"Yeah, sure," he answered nonchalantly. "I'll bring along whatever I have."

He was rewarded with a bright smile from his comrade. Nodding, Ukyo planted her hands on her hips. "Thanks, sugar. You know, we're going to need it."

Ryoga felt a small frown coming on as he thought of Ranma's reaction to the plan that Ukyo was cooking up. "Oh yeah, we are," he replied. Some distance away, Ukyo sighed.

Akane glanced between the both of them in mild confusion.

* * *

Out under the sky once more, Akane walked quietly, long sunken back into a sad dull stupor. She had spent most of the day attacking trees and screaming angrily in the woods –here, she glanced down at her newly-bandaged knuckles- and it had been mid-afternoon when Ukyo and Ryoga found her. 

For a moment, her desolation had dissipated at the sight of so many people moving simultaneously in some sort of beautiful fluid synchronization, and it had been with warm quiet gratefulness when Ukyo and Ryoga and helped to clean her bleeding knuckles.

Now, the sun had set and the sky had darkened, and so had her mood.

Akane felt completely and utterly _miserable_.

Kasumi… Nabiki… Kasumi… Nakibi… and what had happened to Kikyo? The girl who sat next to her at mealtimes, Kagome, and the one who had chased her out of the kitchens in exasperation, Ikumatsu. And Naomi, and Eri, and Ayame and…

She growled then, rubbing a hand into her eyes forlornly.

Ukyo paused. "You okay back there, Akane?" she asked quietly.

Her eyes darted up, before she responded with a slow nod. "Yeah, I'm fine," she replied after a moment or so.

Ukyo did not pursue the issue any further. Instead, she came to a stop in front of a small house. "My quarters," she said simply, and pushed the wooden door open. "Come in, Akane, and take a seat while I get a fire ready."

Akane stepped into the house, letting her gaze move around the simply furnished room. There was a fireplace, but to her surprise, instead of moving to light a fire in the fireplace, Ukyo padded over to a door on the other side of the room and kicked it open. Akane peered through the door out of curiosity, only to see that it led to the back of the cottage, and that Ukyo was setting up a fire outdoors.

For a while, she watched the young woman push a few small logs together, engrossed in her task of preparing a fire. Ukyo had obviously done this many times before, she could see, and she was pretty sure the brown-haired woman was a good cook. Akane, on the other hand… However, while Akane could not cook to save her life…

"Here, let me help." She surprised herself when she moved out of the house and towards Ukyo. She supposed it must have been the need to keep her hands occupied. She did not really enjoy sitting down to wait for Ukyo to complete the fire.

Ukyo blinked at her. "It's okay, really, I mean, I have done this many times before and…"

Akane smiled slightly, although it was not much of an amused smile, recalling how Ranma had said Maidens did nothing but go fanatical over herbs. Then she shrugged mildly. "I insist," she answered politely, distantly. "I'm not very good at cooking, so the other Maidens wouldn't let me into the kitchens, but I did start fires quickly, so they always called for me before they prepared meals for the day."

It was a quiet wistful recollection. Ukyo gave her an awkward but warm half-smile. "In that case then go right ahead, sugar," she said cheerfully. "I never did like lighting fires anyway. Tell you what; if you get the fire ready, I'll go get the ingredients."

Akane grinned then, seemingly happier at this allowance. "Thanks," she said, and Ukyo trotted away, glad that the awkward moment had passed.

It was quite a while before the brunette returned with a large metal slab and an armful of ingredients. When she did, however, she paused and stared at the large fire burning away cheerfully at the centre of the clearing.

Akane wasn't lying when she said she could start fires quickly. Ukyo laughed to herself. It had to be some kind of quirky natural talent or something. Ukyo would have taken twice the amount of time to get a fire this size. Shifting the bundles in her arms, she turned her gaze around the clearing, looking for the Maiden.

Only to see Akane heaving an axe with ferocity and slamming it down into a log with a loud cry.

The log broke neatly into two.

Ukyo blinked, feeling the inane urge to scuttle back slightly. Whoa, she was a strong one. And without any martial art training too…!

It was adding to her resolve to pull off her plan every minute.

"Akane!" she called and the dark-haired girl straightened, wiping her brow. Akane smiled and waved to her.

Ukyo padded over to the fire and placed her bundles down carefully. With a grunt, and moved the metal slab over the fire. "Nice fire," she commented, and Akane smiled, an indication of how her mood was becoming better. "What were you doing?"

"Working up an appetite," Akane answered without thinking, and Ukyo blinked. Seeing the disbelieving look on her face, Akane chuckled.

"I was only kidding," she continued. "You weren't back, and I had nothing to do. Then I noticed you needed some wood-chopping done, so I thought it would give me something to do." She paused, and then glanced at Ukyo anxiously. "You don't mind, do you?"

Ukyo grinned. "Nah, in fact I'm glad. Thanks a lot."

It was a truthful statement, and somehow, the honestly must have been able to convey itself to the other girl, for Akane glanced at her and smiled It was a tentative smile, but it was _real_.

Ukyo felt a warm sensation enveloping her at that shy upturn of lips, and the instant friendly warmth that emitted from the girl. It was infectious; and within seconds she was grinning back whole-heartedly.

She might not have known it then, but it was with that hesitant friendly smile that the first flicker of friendship took hold firmly of them.

Then…

"Come on, you can help me cook," Ukyo suggested.

She should have heeded the warning signs that spawned from the look of mixed apprehension and hope that dawned on Akane's face.

* * *

"Well," Ukyo said awkwardly, trying not to burst out into hysterical laughter. 

Akane had a look of resignation on her face as she gazed at the smoking black pile of _something_ that was supposed to be okonomiyaki. "I told you, Ukyo, I'm not really very good at cooking," she sighed moodily.

Perhaps that was the understatement of the decade. She had never seen anyone who could mix up ingredients that badly.

Ukyo choked back her laughter with commendable effort. "It's okay, sugar. Maybe I could teach you someday. You just need some practice, that's all." Still struggling to hold back some snorts, she grinned good-naturedly and gestured. "Why don't you dump that into that hole over there? I'll, uh, get a new batch ready." She turned her back to the Maiden, ready to whip up a batch of _edible_ okonomiyaki this time.

That was when Ranma sauntered into the clearing, still sweaty from his workout and looking around curiously.

That was when Akane looked up from where she was about to dump the burnt food into the hole in the ground.

That was when in that split second, their gazes met.

And all hell broke loose.

**

* * *

**

_To Be Continued...

* * *

_


	4. Chapter Four

A/N: I thought exams were bad, but I didn't expect the after-exam period to be _that_ bad. Things have been very busy lately, despite having the holidays kick in. But here's another chapter! (: It's been great reading the reviews though. Thanks!

* * *

**Kismet  
****A Ranma ½ Alternate Universe  
****By Andrina**

**Chapter 4

* * *

**

"**_No trumpets sounds when the important decisions of our life are made. Destiny is made known silently."  
_****_-Agnes de Mille (1909 – 1993)

* * *

_**

Well, to be honest, hell hadn't really broken loose. Not yet, anyway.

What _did _happen was that Akane stiffened up immediately at the sight of Ranma. In response, the pigtailed young man shot the meanest, greenest, toughest glare he could muster at that moment and spun around, gritting his teeth.

"Ukyo!" he said accusingly, and she blinked up innocently at him. "What's the big deal, bringing her to dinner?"

Ukyo retaliated with a pretty little confused wrinkle of her adorable nose. "What do you mean, Ran-chan?" she pondered vapidly.

If he didn't know her so well, he would have thought either Ukyo really were confused, or she had somehow been put under a spell and had morphed into an airheaded bimbo.

As it was, she was putting up an act. Right, he knew that. Or so he would like to think. Ukyo was giggling and simpering now; it was getting mildly creepy.

"Oh, don't worry, there's enough okonomiyaki for you, me, Ryoga _and_ Akane-chan," she added meaningfully.

You, me, Ryoga _and_ Akane.

Ryoga never came for okonomiyaki dinners at Ukyo's. Not that he didn't _like_ okonomiyaki, but he came from the west of Nerima, and had always insisted on having his own western Nerima food. Makes me think of home, he'd like to say, and Ranma and Ukyo had always shrugged it off.

Ryoga probably spent more time in the neighboring Kingdom of Zia than in his own home, so it made sense that he would like to get his hands on whatever reminded him of home. And besides, everyone had their little quirks, didn't they? So Ryoga's quirk could very well be his (huge) collection of spices and gravy recipes from the north, however weird that was.

But that was the point, see? Ryoga never ate okonomiyaki with them if he could have the time to prepare his own food, and as far as Ranma knew, Ryoga was pretty free today. So even if Ryoga were to join them for dinner, he would always lug along a bag of meat and spices and pots, not just sit there and eat Ukyo's okonomiyaki.

That was the first point that was bugging him. On another day, however, Ranma might have shrugged and dismissed it. But then Ukyo had to include _Akane_ in it… so that meant…

He looked over at the girl standing at the edge of the clearing, still clutching the burnt okonomiyaki in her hands. Her stance was rigid, her lips pressed into a thin hard line; she looked ready to blow any second now.

Then he looked back at Ukyo, who was now gazing at him in a look of mixed apprehension and hope.

So he made his decision.

"No," he said simply. "I reject it. Akane cannot join the rebellion."

It could be said that the look in his eyes froze all discussion, for Ukyo fell silent and returned to her cooking. Ranma looked around briefly, before disappearing out of the clearing. Akane, now filled with mounting confusion and unease, retreated to a corner, watching Ukyo's skilled yet mechanical movements with a sharp eye.

When Ryoga came, Ukyo only shook her head and passed him an okonomiyaki mutely. It was then that Akane finished her own food as quickly as she could, having lost most of her appetite, and excused herself to return to Sango's cottage.

You can stay here for a few more nights, Ukyo told her. I don't care what Ranma says.

So Akane left, and it was with quick steps that she fled the gloomy atmosphere in Ukyo's quarters.

* * *

She was no more than halfway across the village when she stopped. It was the soft, barely discernable crunch of rough dirt that stopped her, and she glanced up instinctively.

In the darkness before her, she could make out the now-familiar figure of Ranma. She tensed slightly, unsure of what she was to do. Then he took a slight step forward, out of the shadows and into the pale sheet of moonlight that had spread out across the night.

For a moment, they locked gazes. Akane was the first to look away, and quietly, the tenseness in her shoulders drained away.

"Come with me," he said abruptly.

She didn't think she would have moved towards him as he turned and stepped neatly into the bushes. She thought she would have kicked up a fuss, or outright refused, just for the sake of annoying him, at the very least.

Perhaps it was late, and she had had a long tiring day. Perhaps she was too tired to put up a fuss. Perhaps she had sensed that he wouldn't be seeking to taunt her at this moment in time. Perhaps, perhaps…

Perhaps she had seen something when she looked at him, and perhaps she had seen that there would be no more fights today.

Whatever it was, she did follow him.

The first thing that struck her was that Ranma knew his way around this area very, _very_ well. It was in the way he slipped in and out of the thick bushes effortlessly, knowing exactly which to avoid and where the slight openings were, even in the dark. He knew when to sidestep the thorny ones, and he weaved through the plants easily.

Akane, on the other hand, was not so lucky. She seemed to be getting parts of herself caught and scratched by the plants everywhere and more than once she had tripped and stumbled blindly in the darkness.

In fact, it almost seemed as though Ranma had intentionally chosen the most prickly and thorny bushes to lead her through.

She sighed, wincing as something snagged in her top and with a resounding rip, her sleeve tore.

Actually, she wouldn't be scratching herself and tearing her clothes so much if Ranma didn't walk so fast. And that brought one to the second point. Not only was Ranma weaving his way through the forestry with remarkable ease… he was also moving with remarkable speed. She was pretty sure he could hear her breathless panting behind him, but instead of slowing down, he just kept walking.

In fact, he seemed to be picking up speed. Biting her lip, she muttered darkly underneath her breath and trudged forward as quickly as she could.

He kept walking, so she kept following. She had no idea where he was taking her, but she did not really feel much like being the one to break the stony silence between them, so she continued on as best as she could.

Time passed. They were still walking.

Then abruptly, they burst into a small opening in the forest. Without warning, Ranma halted in his steps. Akane gave a startled gasp and stumbled, not expecting the sudden stop.

Then he turned to her, and in that moment, she straightened, still sucking in deep breaths and trying to get over her breathlessness. Then he spoke.

"How long will you follow me?"

Akane drew in a deep breath, and then scowled. "Here you are, telling me to follow you…"

"No," he interrupted. "_How long_ will you follow me?"

She opened her mouth to answer him flippantly, but then something about his tone made her think twice. Finally she looked over at his dark figure. "Until you stop," she responded simply. "Or maybe until I fall down and break a leg and can't get up again." It was meant to be teasing, to lighten up the somber mood that had fallen, but she bit her lip as soon as the words left, feeling an odd alteration in the atmosphere.

Something was shifting, she could feel it.

Then, without warning, his leg swung forward in a vicious kick at her.

* * *

Ranma watched as Akane let out a startled shriek and threw herself wildly to one side as he moved his leg past her. But instead of relenting, he moved himself into a punch towards her head, and it was with another yell and wild duck that she barely avoided his fist.

"Ranma!" she shouted, even as he raised his other fist towards her. "Ranma, have you gone crazy?"

He sent his arm flying forward, and she leapt clumsily away, gasping. She was shouting now, shouting angrily at him. He could hear the note of confused terror in her voice, and he could see the way she tried to prevent her shock and fear from paralyzing her as she tried to avoid him.

She couldn't see it, of course, not when she was untrained, and not when it was so dark, but Ranma was very much pulling his punches and kicks.

But he didn't say anything, and only continued to attack her. Eventually, she fell silent, focusing her efforts only on evading his punches. He smiled slightly, knowing that she wouldn't be able to see it in the dark anyway. Clever girl. For minutes, nothing was said, and nothing could be heard, except the sounds of her harsh breathing and her panicked steps on the forest floor.

He never did hit her. Always, at the last moment, if she could not sidestep in time, he would change his direction minutely. Enough for her not to notice, but also enough for him to miss her just slightly. She was still confused, and still frightened.

But it came to a point, where instead of just ducking, she began to raise her arms to block him, although she certainly wasn't doing it correctly, judging from the way she winced every time one of his pulled blows landed.

And it was enough. It was what he had been looking for.

Akane might not have known it then, but he was testing her. And he would have liked to go on with it too, to see how far he could go; it was in that moment that she gave a sudden startled gasp and tripped over a large root behind her, toppling backwards comically.

He relaxed his stance then, grinning slightly. Her balance would be something for them to work on.

But all in all, she had passed.

* * *

Akane was wary. Very wary.

Pressing a hand to the back of her neck lightly, she bit back a groan of pain, before directing a dark glare to the young man in front of her.

She still didn't know what was going on.

One moment, Ranma was being all mysterious and grave, the next moment, he was trying to kill her, and in the next, he helped her up and asked her to follow him. So she was following him, although she had no idea why she would. It would probably be more logical to pick up a rock somewhere and chuck it at him, instead of following him about the forest in the middle of the night.

She had been scared, back then, when he had started attacking her. Not that she would ever admit that to anyone. Akane didn't get scared, period.

It was then that Ranma slowed his steps. Turning around slightly, he beckoned to her, and she quickened her pace to catch up with him. Satisfied, he stopped and reached down to pick up something on the ground.

"We're at a lake," Akane said finally, breaking the silence. "Why…?"

If she had not been so preoccupied, or if she had not had questions burning to be answered, she might have taken time to look out at the lake. Night had turned the water into a smooth gleaming sheet of black, ruined only by the occasional ripple. In the water, she could see the reflection of the rounded moon above them, and the faint dotting of the stars. She would have looked out at the water, and she would have marveled at it, and she would have liked it very much.

But she didn't, for she was too busy staring at Ranma in questioning.

He didn't say much, but he did bend down and dip something into the lake water. Straightening, he held it out to her, and Akane looked at it distrustfully.

He must have seen the tenseness in her form, because he made a visible effort to relax his stance. "Take it," he said simply, and it was a request. Then: "Look, I'm not going to bite you."

She couldn't resist. "Says you," she muttered darkly, but she took it from him. For a moment, Akane sighed in relief as she felt the cold wet cloth touch her bare fingers, and a little, just a _little_, of her hostility faded away. Carefully, she raised the dripping cloth and pressed it against her cuts and bruises, hissing at the slight sting.

Ranma cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Sorry about all this," he offered awkwardly. "Didn't mean to hurt you."

He did not like hurting girls. Especially girls who had no training in the Art whatsoever. It just wasn't fair.

Ranma liked things to be fair.

Akane gave him a long hard look. "I thought you had gone crazy," she answered finally, truthfully. "I thought you were going to hurt me." An uncomfortable silence ensued, and eventually she turned her face up towards the moonlight. "You don't like me very much, do you, Ranma?"

He looked over at her. For a moment, he said nothing, only watching as she pressed the cloth to a particular angry cut on her right arm. "You don't like me much, either."

She pursed her lips at him. "Hey, you insulted me, and the women I've lived with all my life," she retorted, feeling the start of her anger creep in. But she let it drop; there were more burning questions at hand. "So, would you like to tell me why you tried to kill me just now?"

She sank to her knees then, dipping the cloth into the water once more. So he dropped into a sitting position easily, some distance away from her. Instead of answering her question, he asked, "Have you heard of the rebels in the south of Nerima?"

Akane thought for a moment. "We hardly get news from down below, but occasionally someone who has been on a trip down the mountains brings news with her. I don't know much about the rebels, but I've heard about them a little."

"Would you join the rebels?" he asked then, dead serious.

She looked at him, unbelieving. "You mean…" Then understanding dawned, just as the pieces began to fall in place. Finally, in a small voice, she answered. "You mean, you and Ukyo and Sango and Ryoga are…?"

"Would you join the rebels?" he asked again. "And just so you know, it's a dangerous commitment. Soldiers won't even think twice about killing you, and sometimes we don't have enough money to run our operations," he continued.

Akane was silent. She wasn't stupid. On one hand, by joining a rebellion, she was risking her life. There would be death, she knew. There was always death.

But on the other hand, she had no family, and no friends. Dasier had taken it all away. What was life worth, now that it was ruined? She could die, maybe, but in the course of that, she could do something to give Dasier the fate he deserved.

It was, she thought, the last thing she could do for her sisters. If Nabiki were in her shoes, she would have no qualms about exacting revenge. Kasumi might appear to be peace-loving, but Akane knew that if anything had happened to her or Nabiki, Kasumi would stop at nothing.

And now that Akane thought about it… so would she. This wasn't just a matter of selfishly wanting payback for her own grievances. She had heard much about Dasier's incompetence and greed, and she had seen how many were suffering because of him. And she realized… she hated the King. It was time for something to change; Nerima had stopped flourishing years ago.

And he was extending an invitation to her right now, leaving it right within her grasp. How could she be stupid enough not to take it?

"Yes," she said firmly, decisively. "Yes, I want to join you."

Ranma looked at her slowly. "Are you sure?" he said carefully. "Think about it."

But she had made up her mind, and when Akane truly made up her mind about something, nothing short of an apocalypse could change it. "Yes," she answered, just as carefully. "You will overthrow Dasier?"

Ranma straightened then. "Of course," he replied, and she could hear conviction and determination in his voice. It was then that Akane knew that something bad must have happened to Ranma. No average Joe on the street would ever have been able to have that amount of hardened strength in his voice as he spoke about it.

"Then I will join you," Akane said, standing up, and she realized, with a start, that as she said those words, something seemed to lift from her shoulders. She had been empowered, she understood, empowered with a purpose, and it burned within her.

Ranma got to his feet, straightening. "And I will be your leader."

He offered his hand then, and hesitantly, she grasped it tightly. It was in that contact that a new beginning of sorts was forged, and grudgingly, they put their differences away, at least for the time being.

* * *

"Ready to go back?" he asked.

Akane stifled a yawn and nodded. They had sat by the lake for quite some time, quietly watching the water. But judging by the position of the moon, dawn would be approaching some time soon. It was time to go back before anyone missed them. She got to her feet, trailing after Ranma as he began to walk back towards the bushes.

"By the way," the pigtailed young man added. "Remember King Tendo?"

The last King. Akane nodded.

Ranma gazed out towards the lake. "They say that this lake is linked to the large river running through the Kingdom, where he chose to drown himself at. They say that every year, on the night of the Queen's death, the King's spirit would appear, and he'd be crying for his wife and daughters."

Akane felt an odd sensation creep over her. Shrugging it off, she turned to Ranma. "Come on, that's just a rumor," she replied.

Ranma shrugged. "Guess so. But it's a cool story, ain't it?" he paused, and then chuckled. "Do you think those Princesses are still alive?"

"Don't be silly," Akane told him, but for an odd reason, she felt sadness seeping in. "They're nothing but myths. I don't even think the King and Queen had any daughters."

"Yeah, I know," Ranma said. Then, in a teasing tone, he added, "Won't it be nice if the Princesses just turn up and claim the throne? Dasier would have no choice but to give in. I heard he took some kind of blood oath to return to the throne to the Princesses when they return to claim it."

Ah, a blood oath. The strongest oath of its kind. Bound by magic, breaking it would kill the oath-giver immediately. Akane had heard stories about how it worked, and frankly she found them all too elaborate to be true. "Even if he did take the oath, he would have killed the Princesses already, before they have a chance to claim the throne from him," she answered.

Ranma gave a bitter laugh. "You're right." Shrugging, he beckoned. "Come on, let's go."

She stared at him for a moment. Slowly, she turned her gaze out towards it, taking a long sweeping look before she finally turned back and trailed after Ranma as he made his way back into the bushes.

They returned to the village, and Akane slipped into Sango's cottage quietly. Sango was fast asleep, but she had set up a bed for her. Gratefully, Akane beamed over at the sleeping form of the young woman and slipped into the bed.

Sleep took her shortly.

* * *

"Sir!"

He looked down at the soldier running towards him, waving his spear about madly. Foolish boy. Didn't he know that doing something like that not only made him look like a complete idiot, but it also increased the chances of him poking his eyes out tenfold?

"Sir! Sir!"

Ah, but the boy was excited. He nodded to him as pleasantly as good, before peering up to where the sun was gradually rising out form behind the mountains. It was a good omen, perhaps…?

"What news have you got, Suzuki?" he demanded.

The boy was positively glowing. "Sir, they've identified the hiding spot of the rebels!"

He sucked in a breath. Ah, now _that_ was good news. The King had been hounding them for ages. This _was_ a good day. "Positive, Suzuki?" he questioned. "Have you been discovered?"

"No, sir!" the kid crowed. "It was a successful operation!"

The general leaned back, smiling broadly now. As much as he personally disliked Dasier, he had two kids and a pregnant wife to feed. This was good news; he was pretty certain that a bonus would be headed his way sometime soon.

"A job well done, Suzuki!" he boomed. "Ready the men. We leave in one hour's time. We'll storm them and take them by surprise, and then the rebels will be no more."

"Very good, sir!" the boy enthused, and before the general could say anything, he scuttled off excitedly.

The general blinked and sighed. Someday, Suzuki would understand that war and invasions were not as glorious as Dasier liked to make them out to be. Someday, Suzuki would understand too that the King they were fighting for was no more than a fraud.

But by then, Suzuki too would have resigned himself to the fact, and Dasier would continue his rule, as he had done for many years.

* * *

"Ranma!"

There was no reply. Then:

"Damn you, wake up, Ranma!"

In an instant the door flung open, and an irate, sleepy Ranma loomed. "Ryoga…" he growled. "If this is about you running out of spices for your food again…"

Ryoga shook his head agitatedly. "Don't be a bastard; I only did that once!" before Ranma could retort, he gestured wildly to the scene behind him.

It was then that Ranma noticed the sudden flurry of action in the village. Behind Ryoga, the rebels were running out of their quarters, grabbing large bundles as they did. They were obviously pulling out, and he could see an odd mix of both fear and determination stretched tightly around their eyes.

"Remember, on the night Akane arrived, we lost the Kasshin Store because of an ambush?" Ryoga said hesitantly.

Ranma glared. "You got lost," he pointed out, voice rough from sleep.

"Yeah, whatever," Ryoga muttered, clearly embarrassed and guilty. "I forgot to mention that the ambush happened somewhere in the vicinity…"

Ranma was beginning to see the light now. Tensing, he glanced at Ryoga. "And?" he asked.

"They've found us, Ran-chan," Ukyo answered for Ryoga, appearing by his side. She had a bundle slung over his shoulder. Her voice was tight. "We need to leave _now_."

In response, Ranma seemed to shut his eyes in deep concentration for a moment. Seconds later, he opened them, revealing focused clear-headed blue. "The soldiers," he said. "Where are they?"

"The last we heard, they're just over the mountains," Ukyo answered.

Ranma narrowed his eyes. That was not a good piece of news. "So that means…We've got less than two hours," he calculated quickly, before straightening and gesturing. "You all know what to do. Spread out and disperse, immediately."

Normally he would not have backed down so quickly. If they had had ample warning, then Ranma would arrange for most of the rebels to disperse, before leading a small group of experienced and trained rebels to meet with the soldiers. It was not so much of holding the soldiers at bay, but more of confronting and taunting them.

But this had come without warning. It would not do to assemble his men immediately and meet with the soldiers; they had not had time to prepare themselves yet.

So they would disperse. His men knew what to do. He had confidence that none would be injured, of course; they were trained much better than those fumbling idiots known as the soldiers from the Imperial Army.

But all in all, it didn't seem like it was going to be a good day for Saotome Ranma.

* * *

She awoke with a start when Sango grabbed her suddenly and yanked her into a sitting position. Rubbing her eyes blearily, Akane focused sleepy eyes on Sango. It took a moment for the tense expression on Sango's face to register, and with that she straightened, awakening fully.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Bad news," Sango said grimly. "We've been discovered by the soldiers. We have to leave now." Before Akane could even ask her anything else, Sango pulled her up and pushed her towards the door. "Grab your stuff, quick. We've got to evacuate."

"Hang on," Akane protested, even as Sango pushed her on. "Where are we going?"

Sango stared at her, and then proceeded to smack her head with her hand. "Damn," she muttered. "I forgot. You're not part of us, are you?"

Akane shook her head. "Now I am," she corrected. "Although I'm new, I guess. Care to enlighten me?"

Sango frowned slightly. "No one told you about the emergency evacuation plan?" she asked incredulously.

Akane shook her head, beginning to get more than a little confused. this was getting too much for her to take. Just last night she had been stuck in the forest with Ranma acting like some kind of loony, and now, five hours of sleep later, Sango was rambling about some extremely important evacuation plan that she was supposed to know.

"Here." Sango tossed her a bundle. "Get changed."

Akane unfolded the bundle, holding up a set of traveling attire. "Let me guess," she said slowly. "Something tells me we're going into the forest."

Sango nodded an affirmative. "Hurry up," she hastened. "There isn't really much time left for us. The soldiers are already on their way to the village."

Akane was halfway out of the room before she froze, something coming to her that she never really thought about. "Sango?"

"Yeah?"

"If all the rebels are fleeing… then who's going to be left in the village when the soldiers arrive?" Her question was cautious.

Sango opened her mouth to answer, and then abruptly shut it. Saotome had never covered this part of the evacuation plan when he had briefed the recruits… Frankly she had no idea. "Just the villagers, I think…"

As soon as the words left her lips, her eyes widened, suddenly understanding the importance of the question. Apparently Akane had gotten it too, because the young woman's face was now filled with a mix of incredulous disbelief and horror.

"You have got to be kidding me…" Akane breathed. Then: "I'm going to look for that moron Ranma."

Before Sango could say anything else, Akane was running out of the cottage.

Out of the cottage, she could see how the village was in upheaval. Most doors of the cottages had been flung open; rebels were running out of their quarters, clutching bundles. Some were already disappearing into the forests surrounding the village. Akane had no idea where they were heading. Around them, she could see the villagers peering curiously at the rebels.

Halfway to Ranma's quarters, a little boy wandered into Akane's path.

With a startled shriek, she skidded to a stop, barely missing from knocking over the toddler and trampling him. Oblivious, the chubby boy grinned up at her and flopped down on his butt. Relieved that she had avoided crushing him, Akane picked him up, unable to keep herself from smiling when he grinned at her.

"Shin-chan!"

Glancing up, she saw a young mother running her way. Panting, the mother stopped before Akane, and wistfully she handed the baby over.

"Thank you," the mother laughed. "He's just learnt to walk, and he likes to show off." Turning to return to her cottage, she began to scold her baby. "Shin-chan, you shouldn't have blocked the pretty lady…"

The baby giggled then, and the mother laughed, unable to keep up her gentle chiding.

Akane stared at the mother and her baby for a long moment, watching quietly as they headed back to their cottage some distance away.

Turning in the direction of Ranma's quarters, she broke into a sprint with renewed energy and determination.

—

"Ranma!"

He was already outside his quarters when she arrived. For a moment, Akane wanted to blurt out the question that was bothering her. Then she got a close look at Ranma's face.

She paused in her steps. The day didn't seem like it was going well for Saotome Ranma. She could see it in the tense pull of his lips that he was troubled, even though he was trying his best not to show it.

"Why haven't you left yet?" he asked, upon noticing her arrival.

She fidgeted, ignoring his question. "Tell me," she began insistently. "Sango said we were all to evacuate. In that case who's going to be in this village when the soldiers arrive?"

He thought about it for a moment. "The villagers…?" he answered sarcastically. "This is, after all, their home."

He could not understand why Akane was staring at him with a look of complete disgust.

"You… you dummy!" she finally gritted out. "Can you imagine what will happen when the soldiers arrive? You're putting the villagers in a lot of danger, you know that?"

Ranma's brows furrowed briefly. Then: "He wouldn't."

Akane stared at him challengingly. "How do you know? Are you going to take the chance?"

"He wouldn't," Ranma repeated, this time less convincingly. "He wouldn't resort to harming innocent civilians just to take out his anger. Dasier's not that stupid, _I think._"

"He killed the Maidens," Akane said softly, and he looked down at the bitterness in her voice. "He killed them just ten days ago, and like you said, he took the young ones as prostitutes."

…Damn. She was right. Ranma himself had been shocked with news of the massacre came about. Dasier was greedy and harsh, but he had never gone right out and caused so much bloodshed for no reason before.

Maybe, he thought grimly, maybe Dasier had really cracked.

It wasn't safe enough leaving the village to bear the brunt of whatever the soldiers might dish out. It just wasn't right.

Looking around him, he realized that while he had been talking to Akane, most of the rebels had already fled into the forests. In fact, if he were correct, only Ryoga, Ukyo and himself were left, overseeing the evacuation process. And the three of them couldn't stay to sort out the mess. It was too risky, with them being the heads of the entire rebel operation. They ran the chance of being identified.

This was getting from bad to worse.

"Akane!"

Ranma glanced to his right, seeing Sango run up to them. The young woman's lips were pressed into a hard line.

And, Ranma realized with mounting dread, there was Akane and Sango left.

He couldn't… No way… Sango could hold her own in a battle, that he was sure. Akane, on the other hand, was the newest addition to the ranks. There was no way he could leave the two of them to handle the daunting task of ensuring the safety of the villagers.

"I'm not going," Akane said quietly.

Ranma felt a migraine coming on. Well, Akane had just volunteered herself for the task.

"I'm not going if you're not," Sango said firmly.

Akane looked at her, and then she smiled.

Ranma felt his migraine intensifying. Now, Sango had volunteered.

That was when the little light bulb in his head flickered on. Ranma felt a smirk coming on, as the beginnings of a plan took shape in his mind. Granted, it was going to be risky, but with a bit of luck, it might just work.

"Ukyo! Ryoga! Get over here!" Ranma yelled. Within moments, the two jogged over, joining Ranma, Akane and Sango.

"This is what we're going to do…"

* * *

"They're coming," Ryoga announced grimly. "Come on, it's time for us to get ready."

Ukyo nodded, adjusting the strap of her spatula across her back. For a moment, she hesitated. Then she turned to Akane and managed a brief smile.

"I haven't got to know you well yet, sugar," she said. "But I hope there'll be time in the future for us to talk. Be careful." Turning to Sango, she smiled. "You too, sugar. Be careful."

Akane smiled, and Sango gave a warm nod. "We'll do our best," Sango answered, and after another brief yet warm smile, Ukyo headed off in another direction, disappearing effortlessly into the forest as she took up her post.

The two young women looked at Ranma.

Ranma looked at them, fidgeting slightly. Then: "I ain't going to sugarcoat it," he declared. "It might turn ugly. No one knows. Be careful, and don't do anything stupid. We'll be right there if you need us."

Sango smirked. "Why, Saotome, you sound concerned," she chuckled, trying to sweep off the gloom.

Akane laughed, but it was a somewhat tight laugh. "Relax, dummy. If anything, Sango and I should be the ones worried. Now stop being a control freak, and take up your post." Stepping forward, she pushed at his shoulder.

He paused, feeling cold clammy hands make contact with his shoulder.

She was scared, then, even though she was trying not to show it by putting up a cheery relaxed front.

"Consider it my thank-you present to you guys for taking me in." Her breath breezed past him softly, he could feel it wafting lightly across the back of his neck, where his hair was now standing slightly. "I wanted to see the people who tore up my home and family anyway."

"Don't get carried away." His reply was firm.

A pause. "All right," she agreed quietly. "I won't do anything stupid."

Then she pulled away, and for a brief second, he was rewarded with the barest glimpse of a sincere smile. Then it was gone, replaced by a bright cheery grin that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Get going, dummy!" Akane said cheerfully, making shooing motions. Before Ranma could reply, Akane had taken Sango's arm and made their way into the crowd of villagers.

He stared at their retreating backs for a long moment, suddenly very much aware of his surroundings. Finally he turned and in a few long strides, made his way to his post just within the forest.

Slipping behind a tree, he let himself fall into the shadow of the tall sturdy, a troubled expression on his features.

What had that been?

* * *

The general was not a happy man.

"Suzuki!" he roared. "Get your sorry butt over here right now!"

Cowering, the young man ran over, clutching his spear to his chest. "I swear, sir, I don't know what happened! We saw the rebels; we _heard_ them talking ill of His Highness Dasier!" By this time, the poor kid looked positively heartbroken, quivering in a mix of disappointment and confusion. "I swear, sir, they were in this village!"

The general frowned, and his moustache quivered threateningly. There went his bonus. Still, he had to salvage the situation somehow. If Dasier got wind of this fiasco, then the general would most definitely not be a general any longer.

He didn't know what was up with his King, but as of late, Dasier had been twitchier than ever. If he had been a harsh greedy ruler in the previous years, then he was a tyrant right now.

He didn't know what Dasier might do.

"Bring me the damn Village Headman!" he shouted, finally losing his temper. "I want to speak to the Headman!"

The group of whispering women in a corner of the village square burst into renewed frightened whispers as they eyed the horses and weapons warily. Immediately, they scurried off, running towards one of the larger cottages in the village. Presently, an old man made his way slowly to the general, backed by a large group of wary villagers.

The general sniffed, peering down at the old man. "What is your name, old one?" he demanded.

The old man bowed slightly. "Matsushita Suzu, Village Headman," he introduced calmly. "What might the general be looking for, coming to this village of mine?"

So, pretending not to know a thing, eh? The general frowned. Generally he didn't like to use force on the elderly, but maybe a bit of a scare might help do the trick. He just hoped the old guy wouldn't kneel over and croak from the shock.

"Don't play dumb with me, old man!" he bellowed. Before the Headman could react, the general drew his sword and slashed at the air in front of the old man with careful precision.

The crowd behind the old Village Headman erupted into horrified screams and gasps.

The old man, on the other hand, peered up at the general with an uncanny clearness in his eyes. Stepping closer to the sword, he gave the general a long searching look with those unnerving eyes, before giving a small odd smile.

"Come, sonny," Matsushita said softly. "The eyes of the old see what the young refuse to admit. Right now, these eyes of mine tell me that you are very much in struggle with yourself."

For a moment, the general felt a peculiar rush of something that bore a strong resemblance to shame. The sword shook, just slightly, for a moment. Then it was gone, and the general straightened proudly on his horse.

"Do not fool around with me, Matsushita," he threatened. "Perhaps force will bring you to your knees?" With a grunt, he heaved his sword and slashed it through the air once more, eliciting more gasps from the frightened villagers behind.

Suddenly, a young woman pushed herself to the front of the crowd. The general swung a sharp gaze over at her, taking in her appearance suspiciously. She was young, with long blue-black hair tied behind her back. Nothing too alarming, really. Stumbling and breaking out from the crowd, she raised honeyed eyes to stare at the general in a mix of fear and anger.

"Who are you?" the general barked, slightly taken back by the look. No matter how many times he had met up with villagers all across Nerima, he had never failed to be slightly cowed by the looks they gave him and his armies, the looks that spoke of underlying hate for the King.

The girl pressed her hands tightly together as she turned to face him fully. Straightening, he could see stubbornness in the set of her jaw. When she spoke, however, the fear and anger melted away, replaced by calm, much like that of the bent Matsushita beside her.

"My name is Aka — Akako," she said after a moment. "Matsushita Akako. Matsushita Suzu is my, uh, father."

The villagers were whispering now, most looking shocked. The general couldn't agree more with them. "Old man," he directed. "Don't you know that women should be seen and not heard? You ought to teach your daughter better."

Matsushita merely smiled. "Akako is a spirited child," he said serenely. "We should not seek to curb this life in her."

The general shrugged. "Very well," he answered. Truth be told, he did not want to carry on a conversation with this old man. He unnerved the general too much for his liking. "You, girl! You are his daughter, are you not?"

The woman named Akako nodded.

The general smirked, and swung his sword away from the elderly Matsushita. In one fluid motion, he swept it through the air and aimed it at the dark-haired woman.

Akako started at the motion, flickering her gaze over the blade of the sword, inches away from her face. The crowd behind her burst into flurried nervous whispering.

The general stared down at her. In a calm voice, he announced, "Since you are his daughter, then you will take your father's place in this discussion."

* * *

_**To Be Continued…

* * *

**_


	5. Chapter Five

A/N: Happy New Year:D I didn't really like this chapter that much, because it was more of a transitional one... but things will definitely pick up in the next! ;) Enjoy the chapter.

* * *

**Kismet  
****A Ranma ½ Alternate Universe  
****By Andrina**

**Chapter 5

* * *

**

"_**I am not an adventurer by choice, but by fate."  
**_**_-Vincent van Gogh (1853 – 1890)

* * *

_**

Saotome Ranma had exceptional reflexes. After years of training, this was to be expected, of course. He could move faster than the average human being, he could hit harder than the average human being, and he could hold out much longer than the average human being.

He could also hear and see better than the average human being.

So it was, that even from his post within the safety of the forest's reaches, that he managed to pick out the voice of Akane, slightly nervous but still steady.

"My name is Aka — Akako. Matsushita Akako. Matsushita Suzu is my, uh, father."

He could have smacked his head right there and then. Instead he tensed himself, getting ready to spring at a moment's notice. He did not need to see it, but he knew that Ukyo and Ryoga had to be tensing up too, from where they were situated within the safety of the forest.

Wow, what kind of a crummy excuse was that? The general was _definitely_ going to find out that something was not quite adding up, and then they would be in big trouble…

The plan had been simple. They were to avoid violence and confrontation at all costs. Since Ranma, Ryoga and Ukyo would run too high of a risk should they be situated within the crowd of villagers, Akane and Sango were to blend into the crowd instead. If nothing bad happened, then they were to _stay_ in the crowd, and try not to draw any attention to themselves. Ranma, Ryoga and Ukyo would watch over a distance away, concealed within the forest's edges. After the soldiers left, then they would join up and leave the village immediately.

That was Plan A.

If the situation threatened to turn dangerous, Akane and Sango would attempt to do something to help it boil over peacefully. Of course, they would do so in a diplomatic way, and Ranma, Ryoga and Ukyo would be at the sides, waiting. Once the soldiers left, then they would join up and leave the village immediately.

That was Plan B.

As for Plan C (and Ranma sincerely hoped very much that the situation would not deteriorate to the point where they would be forced to succumb to Plan C), should things threaten to turn ugly, not just for the villagers but also for the two young women planted within the villagers, then Ukyo would cause a diversion of some sorts, and they would try, as best as they could, to leave the village immediately.

In the end, it all boiled down to leaving the village. It was just a matter of how ugly their departure could get.

Ranma winced inwardly. He hoped it wouldn't get too ugly. Furiously, he swore not to let this happen again. It was wasting too much time and putting too many in danger. They wouldn't get found out without at least ample warning. He couldn't believe he had let security get this lax.

After this was over, Ranma would be looking forward to thrashing Ryoga. Although it was entirely possible that Ukyo had already taken care of that task for him. She had been pretty furious the night she returned with Akane, and had left to chew Ryoga out.

Speaking of Akane…

He turned his gaze back to the scene unfolding within the village square, before wincing slightly. She looked pissed.

He hoped she wouldn't do anything stupid.

* * *

"My name is Aka — Akako. Matsushita Akako. Matsushita Suzu is my, uh, father."

Akane winced mentally. Okay, so that was completely unconvincing. For a moment she stared up at the stuffy general on the horse before her, almost certain that he would be able to see right through her crummy little disguise. And the villagers weren't helping much either; she could hear the flurry of disbelieving whispers that rose like behind her. She could somehow sense Sango tensing, ready to take on anything that was thrown their way.

The general stared at her. Unperturbed, Akane raised her head and stared right back, her eyes boring into his… almost as if she wanted to make him squirm. It was inevitable, yet she could feel a surge of anger and repulse rising up. Did this idiot lead the invasion into the Temples too?

Akane had a very hot temper.

Kasumi often chided her on it, asking her to try and be more understanding and patient with others. The other Maidens knew better than to bother her when she had worked herself up into a rage; the best way to deal with it was to let her find a way to dispel the anger, and within a few hours they knew Akane would be back to normal again.

But she had never quite recalled feeling this… this _intensity_ of anger before. It was more than good old anger, it was _fury_, combined with loss and injustice and the burning question that choked her should she be careless enough to let her mind wander too much: 'Why?'

Akane wanted to hit him. She wanted to hit him so badly.

But she did not. She could not. Not now. Not in this situation. So she steeled herself.

She had no idea reining in her emotions could be so hard to swallow. It burned at her, like an angry scald on her skin. Yet somehow she managed to choke it back, and she stared carefully at the general, feeling a strange sort of calm ebb into her.

She unnerved the general. She could see it in the brief tightening of his jaw, in the slight shift he made on top of his horse. This thought registered faintly at the back of her mind, and Akane hid a small smirk.

"Old man," the general broke in suddenly. "Don't you know that women should be seen and not heard? You ought to teach your daughter better."

Akane began to fume. Her urge to hit him was redoubling.

"Akako is a spirited child," came the serene voice of the old Village Headman beside. "We should not seek to curb this life in her."

Akane stole a quick glance at Matsushita. He seemed to catch her gaze, because the sides of his mouth quirked up in a small smile at her. He understood, then. Abruptly she felt a surge of respect for the bent old man, for handling everything with such imperturbable calm, and without ever missing a beat.

"Very well," the general grumbled. "You, girl! You are his daughter, are you not?"

Akane nodded.

The general smirked, and swung his sword away from the elderly Matsushita. In one fluid motion, he swept it through the air and brought it to an abrupt stop, inches from her face.

Akane started.

The crowd behind her burst into flurried nervous whispering. Her breathing quickened; that sword looked awfully sharp and shiny…

The general stared down at her. In a calm voice, he announced, "Since you are his daughter, then you will take your father's place in this discussion."

Her breath hitched. Okay, this wasn't really going the way she wanted it to. She steeled herself. All right, think fast, Akane. Think fast like how Nabiki does. How hard could it be? After all, every time Nabiki broke out her smooth talk; she made it look so easy.

"Tell me, Matsushita Akako, about everything you know about the rebels," the general addressed.

Akane chewed her bottom lip delicately. Maybe thinking fast wasn't really her strong point. That's was Nabiki's area of specialization, not hers! But all the same, she was pretty sure she could carry off a convincing fib or two… Besides, this stuffy general didn't look too bright either.

She was saved, however, by the distinct steady voice of Sango. Oddly enough, Sango sounded uncharacteristically demure and polite.

"Aka—I mean, Akako won't be able to tell you very much, sir," Sango said carefully, making her way to the edge of the crowd. She kept her eyes prudently on the ground, bowing slightly when she reached the edge and broke out from the crowd to take a stand beside Akane. "You see, Akako wasn't the one who met the rebels."

The general stared down suspiciously from his horse at Sango. "Who are you, girl?" he demanded.

"Tanaka Sana," Sango replied without skipping a beat. "I'm a friend of Akako."

The general wrinkled his brow, and for a brief moment, Akane let her gaze sweep over him quickly, wondering absently if he found the black moustache heavy. "So," said the general. "I hope you learn from your friend, Matsushita Akako. _That_ is how a woman of your age should be speaking and behaving."

Akane could feel Sango bristling silently beside her. She held back an amused laugh, knowing how bad it would be in such a situation, and instead, sought to reach out for Sango's ire as a means of rooting and steeling herself. "I'm sorry, sir," she tried, and to her surprise, her voice came out soft and gentle.

Taking a leaf out of Sango's book, she tilted her chin such that her gaze rested on the earth beneath her feet. It was easier too, now that she did not have to stare right into the eyes of the general. It made fibbing easier. "I must have gotten carried away by the moment," she continued.

Feathers smoothed, the general cleared his throat importantly. "You have something of importance to add, Tanaka Sana? Perhaps you will tell us who met the rebels?"

"Yes," said Sango calmly. "I did."

The general raised a brow at her simple reply. "As much as I guessed," he answered dryly. "Would you care to elaborate?"

"I was fetching water from a well some distance within the forest," Sango began slowly. "On my way back, I met with this group of people. There were about six to seven of them, and they seemed to have been traveling. They asked if there were an inn at the village, and I told them there was. They asked me to show them the way."

Now the general was looking interested. He wasn't the only one. It seemed as though the entire crowd fallen silent, listening avidly to Sango's 'recount'. Akane was now watching in a curious mix of admiration and dread. Sango carried on, however, in a completely calm and steady manner.

"I agreed to show them, sir, because I did not know who they were. They asked a lot of questions, like if there had been any soldiers passing through the village recently. After a while, this young man asked me if the people in our village were happy with His Highness Dasier. I said yes, yes we were very comfortable under His Highness's rule.

"He was a bit disappointed, I think. Then he asked if I would like to have a shot at overthrowing His Highness and taking over Nerima with them." Here, Sango paused and widened her eyes at the general. "I thought he was joking, sir. But he was completely serious. I was so nervous; I showed them to the inn and left them at once."

"The man," said the general. "The man who asked you. What did he look like?"

"Well," Sango replied slowly, appearing to be thinking hard. "I think he had a braid. He was taller than me, and blue eyes. I'm not sure."

"Aha!" said the general with grim satisfaction. "That's Saotome Ranma all right." Turning to the crowd, he cleared his throat. "Inn-keeper! Who's the inn-keeper?" he boomed.

Akane froze. She hadn't thought of that. Glancing furtively at Sango, she could see that Sango hadn't thought about that possibility either. To her immense surprise, a plump middle-aged woman crept out cautiously and took a stand in front of the crowd. "I'm the inn-keeper, sir," she said, and it was a thin quivery sound that greeted their ears.

"Tell me about these rebels," the general ordered.

The woman pressed her lips into a thin line. For a moment, Akane was afraid that she might give them away. Yet, after a moment, the woman burst fluently into a confident well-paced chatter. Yes, she did take a group of youngsters in. No, she did not have a chance to talk to them much; they kept too much to themselves. Yes, they had friends who arrived after a day or two. Oh no, they took all their meals at the inn. Yes, they stayed a while, but they just upped and left two days ago. How rude of them. Said something about being in a rush. No, she hadn't even known they were rebels or freedom fighters of any sort.

And it was as though this woman's talk had opened up a dam of some sort. It seemed as though the villagers had cottoned on, and this small show of bravery by one of their own was spurring them to back her, and the rebels, up. A few young men whom Akane could barely recall stepped out shyly, and spun tales of how a man with a braid, or a woman with a spatula, or a man wearing a bandanna, had asked them if they were happy, or if they would like to join them.

They're backing us up, Akane thought faintly. They're backing us up, and it was working. This show of spontaneous bravery, of teamwork, and looking out for each other was so surreal she could hardly believe it. She could see the doubt fade in the general's eyes, replaced by a resignation and grimness. Finally she stepped forward slightly.

"I'm afraid they are gone, sir," Akane said, in the most apologetic and careful voice she could manage. "We would like to help, however."

It clinched it.

The general heaved a sigh. "It appears the Imperial Army is too late," he muttered. "As always. His Highness won't be happy about it. Very well, we extend our thanks to you for your help. But if the rebels ever return…" He paused and sent a sharp look at Akane. "I would appreciate the dispatching of a messenger immediately to one of the Army's training grounds."

Akane bowed. "Of course."

She kept her eyes firmly on the ground, not wanting, not daring to look up as she heard the distinctive sound of horses' hooves on hard earth, an indication of the troops beginning to pull out from the village. Even when Sango raised her head to watch them leave, she still did not tear her gaze away from the ground.

Just as the rumble of horses and disgruntled men began to fade as the soldiers left the village, she felt a hand come down lightly on her shoulder. She looked up, and was rewarded with a kind smile from the elderly Village Headman standing behind her.

"It's over, child," he said calmly. Then, with a slight twinkle in his eyes, "So, I have a daughter named Akako, eh?"

Akane piped a sheepish grin at him. "Thank you," she said. "For backing us up."

Matsushita laughed, and Akane found that she liked the genial sound. "You're welcome," he answered. "My people and I are glad to help. We… ah… we are pleased with your intentions."

Akane smiled, and glanced at Sango as the young woman went forward to the innkeeper to thank her for her quick thinking. Around them, the crowd of villagers were breaking into fresh chatter and dispersing as they returned to their lives. Moments later, Sango jogged up to her side. "You okay?" she asked.

Akane nodded. "Yeah. Still, that wasn't something I would like to repeat," she admitted. "You were really good back there. Thanks for helping me out. I was getting a bit stuck."

Sango shrugged, and after a moment, a small friendly smile spread over her features. "You would have done fine," she assured her. "Anyway, we've got to get going." She jerked her head behind Akane.

Turning around in time to see Ranma, Ukyo and Ryoga emerge from the forests, Akane joined Sango in giving short waves. Breaking into a jog, Ukyo broke away from the small group and hurried forward to Akane and Sango.

"That was good," she said immediately upon reaching them, not even breaking a sweat despite all that distance she had covered in a run. Instead, she beamed at them happily. "That was really good. Good job. Anyway, this isn't really time to talk. You two better get ready. We have to leave."

"Now?" Akane asked. From the corner of her eye she could see Ranma making a detour to the side as he sought to speak with Matsushita.

"Yeah, now," answered Ryoga. He adjusted his belt slightly, and for the first time, Akane noticed how oddly… metallic and sharp it looked. No doubt he used it as a weapon of some sorts. "It's best if we use the time to leave, while the soldiers are in the opposite direction and unsuspecting of us."

"We have a small problem," Ranma spoke up as he joined them. Pinpointing Akane with a sharp look, he pressed his lips into a thin line grimly. "From what I heard from Matsushita, he says that while both Akane and Sango came out to speak to the general, Akane stared at him at first while Sango kept her head down all the time."

Grim understanding dawned on Ukyo and Ryoga's faces. Akane, on the other hand, was at a loss. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Dummy," Ranma said, exasperated. "Think about it. Most women wouldn't act in these parts wouldn't act like the macho tomboy you are." At this he dodged a swipe from Akane and continued without skipping a beat. "You stared at the general, and chances are he's going to remember what you look like. If we encounter him again, he might remember that you're supposed to be 'Akako', and then he's gonna come right back to this village. And then…" He trailed off, and Akane groaned, finally getting the picture.

"Sorry," she said defensively, miserably. "I didn't think of that."

"We'll think of something," Ukyo interjected firmly. "Let's just get going first. Sango, you mind going off with Ryoga?"

Sango hesitated, looking doubtful.

"Don't worry, Ryoga's a jackass," Ukyo said dismissively, ignoring Ryoga's annoyed protest. "But he's a perfect gentleman."

Ranma, on the other hand, looked wary, if not a tad dismayed. "That means the macho chick is coming with us?"

Akane was glaring now. Ukyo smiled, and hoped that no one noticed that her smile was a bit strained. "It only makes sense, Ran-chan," she said quickly. "Think about it, Sango can defend herself fine, and with Ryoga around they should have no problems. Akane-chan, on the other hand, hasn't learnt to defend herself, so with you and me around, everything should work out."

"You forgot, Ukyo," Ryoga interrupted. "That the two of them might kill each other first."

Ukyo's smile became even more strained. "No, they won't," she corrected. "That's why I'm going to be around with that spatula of mine, and any killings are going to come through me first, honey."

Ranma sighed in self-pity. Akane huffed.

Ukyo stared at the two of them for a moment, and heaved a sigh. This was going to be a long trip. What on earth had possessed her to take on the role of the martyr in keeping these two apart? It must be the late morning heat getting to her. Idly she wondered if she could make some last minute excuses and back out. Maybe she could swap places with Ryoga or something.

Ryoga shook his head emphatically at her. Don't get _me_ involved, his eyes flashed dangerously.

Ukyo gave another sigh. Well, she was stuck. "Come on; let's get a move on it already."

* * *

"…Fine weather, isn't it?" Ukyo said, in an all-too-chirpy voice.

No one replied. Ukyo tried to keep her smile from straining as they padded easily through the forest. Akane walked silently beside her, and Ranma moved a short distance behind them. Sneaking a look at Akane and Ranma, Ukyo noted with growing exasperation that they both wore identical expressions of deep-seated pain and suffering.

It was altogether too dramatic, if you asked her. She shrugged to herself. Well, it was fine by her if this was the way they wanted to play it…

Truth be told, she had hoped that the acceptance of Akane into the rebels meant that Ranma would thaw a bit towards her in future encounters. After all, if he went back on his word and decided that having her as a member of the rebels wouldn't be such a bad thing after all, then it must have meant something, right?

Ukyo hadn't expected Ranma to take Akane in.

He had been dead serious the night before when he said no. She had thought she could argue her way through or something; after all, Ranma usually took her advice based on their long friendship through the years. Yet, when he had disagreed, she had backed down, because she had seen the look on his face and she knew that no matter how close they were, Ranma had the stubborn will of wild horses, and once his mind was set, he would never change his mind.

That night, when she had gone to look for Ranma, she had found that his quarters were dark and empty. Then she had gone to look for Akane, to apologize for Ranma's behavior, and Akane too was missing.

Now, Ukyo was a bright young woman. So she put one and one together… and was rewarded with a rush of triumph. The next morning, she went to Sango's quarters and found Akane sleeping like a log, and Sango with orders from Ranma to let her sleep in.

So Akane had survived the test, and Ranma had accepted her.

It was standard procedure, really. For anyone to be admitted into the ranks of the rebels, they had to be first approved of by Ranma, Ryoga and herself. Next, one of them would take the newcomer into the forest and lead them round and round and round. Then they would attack the poor hapless person. It was a good opportunity to assess the newcomer on his or her defense and skills.

More than that, however, it was also the perfect opportunity to understand the person.

Most people didn't really understand a simple fight like the one they liked to use as a test spoke volumes about the way you work. It told tales about your personality, whether you gave up easily, whether you had moral fiber, whether you could think fast on your feet, whether you sought to aggress others… It was precisely why they used it as a test, to judge the newcomers.

Chances were most of the newbies didn't know a single thing about the Art. It never really mattered anyway. They were out to judge, not harm. All the strikes and punches and kicks were always pulled at the last moment, enough to prevent them from harming the newbie, and also enough to keep the newbie from realizing what was going on.

Those who passed would be admitted.

Akane passed. Ukyo smiled to herself. She had known that Akane would pass. She had the look of someone who was strong, who would be able to pick herself up despite a fall. She did, after all, have one heck of a pride.

Speaking of pride… Ukyo glanced sneakily at Ranma. He had one heck of a pride too.

Maybe this short period of time would be good for them both. At last, someone who was both brave (or maybe it was imprudent) enough to yell back and stubborn enough to rival Ranma. She was going to have to tackle this carefully though, or it could blow up right in her face.

Ranma would see that not everyone was a rival. Akane, though stubborn and prideful, did seem like a nice girl. Perhaps they would all be friends one day.

Ukyo grinned happily. Yep, she was going to make them thaw towards each other, and maybe take a step towards becoming friends. But first…

In her musings, she had not noticed that she was now lagging behind both Ranma and Akane. In fact, the two of them appeared to have found a new spat, because they were now beginning to snap loudly at each other.

Oh yes, Kuonji Ukyo would bring friendship to the world!

…First though, she had to prevent them from clawing each others' eyes out.

"Okay, break it up, break it up!" she hollered, breaking into a jog towards them.

* * *

"I still don't know where we're heading," Akane mused idly. She seemed to be in a particularly good mood despite the fact that they had been walking for hours now and her feet were beginning to blister; the purpling bruise on Ranma's arm was to testify to her good mood. "We've been walking all day. Are we going to join up with the rest of the rebels?"

"Tonight, you mean?" Ukyo asked, surprised. "No, not tonight. I think we're going to have to camp out tonight. The nearest town is miles away. Anyway we won't be seeing the rest for quite some time."

Akane paused to glance at the other woman. "We won't? Where are we going then?"

"Oh, somewhere," Ukyo waved her hands vaguely. "The rest should be scattered all over Nerima now. Depending on what units they're in, they should in the forests or maybe in some of the smaller towns around here. They have orders to lie low until they receive the signal."

"Oh." Akane looked mildly puzzled. "How are they going to receive the signal, if they're all over the place?"

Ukyo gave a mysterious little grin. "It's one of the best kept secrets we have. You'll see," she answered flippantly. Twirling to face the sulking Ranma, she gestured to the setting sun over the horizon. "I think we should stop for the night. Akane-chan's probably not used to such long traveling, and besides, we should get some food. What do you think, Ran-chan?"

"Pfeh," came Ranma's intelligent reply. "Whatever." All the same, the pigtailed youth slowed down agreeably and pointed to a particularly large tree with wide-spreading branches. "That one. We'll stay here for the night."

Akane suspected that Ukyo had deliberately included the mention of food when she suggested them stopping for the night. And it seemed to have worked too, for Ranma was now inspecting the tree carefully, walking around it. Once satisfied, he made a grunt of some sort and broke into a run, disappearing into the forest. Akane blinked, confused. "Where's he going?" she asked.

"To get dinner," Ukyo replied cheerfully. "Come on, sugar, let's get a fire started."

It was the second time in two days that Akane was getting ready to light a fire. Branches and dry twigs were pretty easy to find, and before long the two of them had created a suitable heap of twigs and branches and dry leaves. Ukyo was about to start hunting for a flint. To her surprise, Akane halted her with a mischievous grin.

"Wait," she said. "Watch this."

Ukyo fixed her with a mildly confused stare. Carefully, Akane cupped her hands and stared intently at the space in her hands. She sucked in a deep breath and focused…

Careful now… Slowly… Slowly…

She left her eyes drift shut as she focused, and when she heard the startled gasp from Ukyo, she knew it had been done. Blinking, Akane grinned at the tiny ball of blue and orange flames dancing in the center of her palm. Carefully she dropped to her knees, and with a satisfied sigh, she released the ball and watched it as it rolled harmlessly from her fingers and dropped onto the pile of branches and leaves.

The pile burst into flames immediately upon contact.

Ukyo let out a low unladylike whistle. "Neat," she admired. Then: "I didn't know Maidens could do magic!"

Akane flushed but smiled. "We heal people, so we just learn to channel energy from the surroundings into sick people. It's not really much of magic. But some of us are stronger at handling energy and magic, like our Head Priestess Kikyo and her cousin Kagome, and they eventually learn to work simple spells, mostly domestic stuff to help people," she explained, poking casually at the fire with a stick.

"But some people work better with some elements than others. I work well with fire. That's why the Maidens in the kitchen like to get me to light the fires. My sister Kasumi worked well with water… and she was really good at healing too." She fell silent then, and Ukyo wisely chose not to prod.

After a moment of awkward silence, Ukyo perked up slightly. "Well, at least you have some ability with magic. That's bound to come in handy sooner of later. Ran-chan's weird with magic, though. Anything remotely magic ends up being completely unpredictable around him. I, on the other hand, can work magic about as well as I can fly."

She was rambling a bit. Ukyo knew that. She had always had a habit of rambling to get them out of awkward situations and moments. And for this time, it seemed to have worked, for Akane smiled then, and they carried on stoking the fire.

* * *

"Ah," said Ukyo pleasantly. "Looks like dinner's here."

Akane turned around slightly to see what Ukyo was pointing at, and then immediately wished she hadn't. Saotome Ranma strolled out of the trees with a satisfied grin, casually swinging two dead rabbits by their ears. She turned green at the sight of the animals flopping around limply.

Kasumi had been showing a rabbit to her right before the invasion came.

But she frowned, pushing that back. She wouldn't let something like that drag her down at this moment. Later tonight she might think about it again, but not now. No, definitely not now.

Still, it didn't excuse Ranma from treating the pair of dead rabbits like that! And she made sure to let him know exactly what she thought of that when she instinctively reached out to catch one of the rabbits as Ranma tossed them over. "Do you have to be that disrespectful to the dead?" she scolded angrily, even as she patted the limp animal in her arms mournfully.

Ranma paused and gaped at her. For a moment he looked like he wanted to retort, but then he shut his mouth. Then he shrugged. "I killed them quickly. At least they didn't suffer," he answered, mildly defensive.

It wasn't as though he had taken pleasure in killing the gentle frightened creatures, like some other sick psycho might have. It was either that or to go hungry for the night.

Ranma hated going hungry for the night.

But the damage had been done, and Akane turned away huffily. Ranma scowled. What the hell was up with that girl anyway? Uncute, violent, always fuming, tomboy, stupid, stupid, _stupid_…

Ukyo wisely chose to remain silent. Picking up the two rabbits, she shrugged and hurried off to prepare them for dinner.

It was only a matter of time before the rabbits were cooking over the fire. Ukyo had sweetly but firmly refused to allow Akane anywhere near the fire while the rabbits were being roasted; after all, they only had two rabbits to spare for the night. Akane hadn't seemed so happy, but she had grudgingly agreed.

But it was precisely because she was unable to help that she was forced to sit by the tree, trying her best not to scowl at Ranma. Eventually, it seemed that Ranma too was tired of sulking at her, for he got up and announced that he would be washing up in a stream nearby. "I hate smelling like rabbit," he groused to himself, and then he was gone.

Akane, of course, ignored this.

Then they had dinner. Dinner was good. Dinner was very, very mouthwateringly deliciously good. Or maybe that was because Akane was just feeling hungry, having not eaten for most of the day. Ranma returned from the stream just as Ukyo was poking at the meat to check if it were properly cooked.

Ranma seemed happier. Calmer, in fact, as though the time he had spent at the stream had restored his good spirits. Or maybe it was just the sight and smell of food. Akane didn't know, and didn't care to find out either. But one thing was for sure: Now that he wasn't constantly scowling, she found it hard to keep sulking too. So eventually she shrugged it off, content to ignore their little spat in favor of getting herself some food.

It was amazing how quickly they finished the two rabbits. Ranma was the most shocking eater Akane had ever had the misfortune of laying her eyes on; he seemed to have an incredible ability to stuff food into his mouth endlessly. He devoured his share as soon as he could get his hands on it, and reluctantly Akane was forced to gulp her own share down faster if she wanted to keep it.

At last, it came to a showdown over the last large chunk of meat.

Ukyo watched Akane and Ranma warily. She herself had gotten enough of the rabbits, so she was glad that she wasn't going to get involved in this. But Ran-chan, being blessed with a bottomless pit for a stomach, looked like he wouldn't mind snatching up the meat and eating it right there and then. On the other hand, Akane, too, was favoring the meat with a mournful expression and twitching fingers.

Ukyo pursed her lips. She hoped this wouldn't get too ugly. Frankly, she was getting tired of the two of them arguing all day long. "Now, don't get too violent over the meat, you two," she chided.

Ranma stared at Akane intensely.

Akane stared right back at Ranma. Without warning, she shifted her gaze wistfully to the chunk of meat, still dripping juice into the sizzling fire.

In that very moment, the battle was over. Ranma let out a miserable groan and slumped. "Fine, you can have the meat," he sighed. "Figures a chick like you would need plenty of food."

He was surprised when she pointedly chose to ignore his barb. He had thought an oversensitive and over-violent girl like her would flare right up, but instead of scowling or retorting ungratefully like he had expected her to, she simply reached over and plucked the meat out of the flames.

But he was downright bowled over when she tore the chunk of meat carefully into two bite-sized pieces and handed one to him, favoring him with an honest smile. Then, to add on even more to his disbelief, she turned her attention back to her own chunk, popping it into her mouth and chewing with great care, all without even the smallest of insults.

Ranma glanced furtively at the dark sky above them. It had to be unreal. Was the sky going to fall next?

Turning his uncertain gaze back to Akane, he saw that she was now oblivious to him, sucking on her fingers with relish, one at a time, and dabbing daintily at the little dribble of juice at the side of her mouth and…

Stop right there. Hastily, Ranma tore his gaze away and tossed his chunk of meat into his mouth, chewing and swallowing with brusque deftness.

The meat was sweet, he noted absently. Very sweet.

* * *

"…really good and… hey, where's Ranma?"

Ukyo tore her eyes away from Akane at her question and glanced around for the pigtailed young man. True enough, he was nowhere in sight, although the fire was still burning away heartily. Unlike Akane, though, Ukyo was completely unperturbed, having gotten used to Ranma's ways in their years of travel. "Don't worry, sugar," she said dismissively, padding over to the fire. "He's just up in the tree as usual."

"In the tree!" Akane repeated, now looking up dubiously into the shadowy branches against the inky black sky. "What's he doing up in the tree?"

"Sleeping," came Ranma's grunt, and as though on cue a twig fell out from the tree and landed on Akane's head. The young woman gave an indignant yelp and rubbed the top of her head furiously.

"You sleep in a tree?" she echoed incredulously. "What's wrong with sleeping on the ground?"

There came a rustle, and then Ranma poked his head out of the branches. "So I don't have to be near macho chicks like you!" he teased, sticking out his tongue. "Goodnight, sleep tight, don't let the fire ants bite!" he sang, disappearing back into the thick leaves before Akane could retaliate.

Akane was steaming. "Why, you…!" Scooping up several pebbles from the ground, she flung them into the tree, and smirked gleefully when she was rewarded with a few yelps of pain and surprise.

"Akane!" Ukyo halted her, shaking her head slightly. "Save your energy for tomorrow; we have a long day ahead. Anyway, Ranma was just joking." At this, there came a grunt of agreement from the tree. "He sleeps in the trees every time we travel; it's just another habit of his."

"Oh," said Akane. She accepted the explanation without protesting; she could feel the day taking a toll on her already. Then something seemed to nag at her a bit, and reluctantly she voiced her concerns to Ukyo. "Uh, Ukyo, there aren't any fire ants around, right?"

Ukyo blinked. "No. At least, I don't think so. Fire ants don't live in these parts," she said confidently.

"Oh, okay then," Akane said, cheering up slightly. "Then I guess it's all right."

Ukyo hid a smile at Akane's obvious unease. Still, she was getting rather tired and couldn't wait to get some shuteye. "I'd love to chat, Akane, but I think I'm going to turn in now. You should sleep too," she advised.

Akane shrugged. "I think I wait till my hair dries before I turn in," she said lightly. "Why don't you go to sleep first? I'll just sit by the fire. My hair should dry fast."

"Okay, if you say so…" Ukyo glanced at her briefly. "Sleep soon, won't you? We've got a long day ahead." She paused to direct a warm smile at Akane. "Goodnight, sugar."

"Goodnight, Ukyo," Akane answered softly. She watched as Ukyo swept her long brown hair into a bun to prevent hair from touching the ground. Propping a brown leather pouch underneath her head to use as a pillow, Ukyo lay down and shifted around to get herself into a comfortable position. Moments later, her breathing had moved into the steady deep breathing of a sleeper.

Akane turned her gaze away, content.

The fire was crackling away. She stared at it for a long moment, and then she scooted closer to the flames, pushing in new twigs with a thoughtful expression on her face. Now that Ranma was out of sight in that tree of his, and Ukyo was fast asleep…

…Now there was peace.

Of course, Akane didn't mean peace in the 'peace-and-quiet' sense. It was more like peace in the 'Ah-now-I-can-finally-spare-myself-the-time-to-mull-over-stuff-on-my-own' kind of sense.

Her throat was feeling a bit sore, she noted absent-mindedly. She had done a lot of screaming and shouting today. Ukyo was really nice, but Akane really wanted some time to herself to think over the day. Hence the reason why she had asked Ukyo to turn in first.

Ranma, on the other hand, seemed to bring out the very worst in Akane. She knew she wasn't the most demure and gentle girl around. Even with the Maidens, she had liked running and jumping around in the forest, activities that were definitely not considered ladylike in the least. But even then, she had never screamed nor shouted nor thrown things so frequently at others before. She had been perfectly civil towards everyone else. She hadn't screamed at Ryoga, or Ukyo, or Sango, or anyone else, for that matter.

It was just Ranma.

Akane scowled. Jerk. He really seemed to bring out the worst in her. Stupid, stupid jerk.

Sighing, she reached up to finger the wet locks of hair clinging onto her cheeks. After dinner, Ukyo and Akane had left for a nearby stream to clean themselves up. Tearing and gobbling up chunks of juicy rabbit meat by the fire tended to make you sticky and dirty, among other things. She had intended to only wash her face and arms, but a stumble in the dark led her to wet not just her face, but her whole head as well.

Needless to say, Akane had been very annoyed at herself.

Still, it hadn't been too bad. She was thankful it was just her hair; she did not want to think about the wet discomfort she would be feeling if she had fallen entirely into the stream and gotten her clothes wet. All the same, Akane didn't really warm up to the idea of sleeping with wet hair, but with her sitting so close to the warm crackling fire, her hair was almost entirely dry anyway. Just a little while more and she would be ready to turn in for the night.

Having wet hair also, conveniently, gave Akane an excuse to mull over the day's happenings by the fire.

Things had happened so fast, hadn't they? She could hardly believe that she had been following Ranma through the forest in the dark exactly one day ago. Then it was a whirlwind of events and happenings, with her being inducted into the ranks of the rebels, lying and tricking the very same soldiers who had taken away her home, and now, camping out in the forest while they escaped the pursuit of the Imperial Army.

And the oddest thing was, she loved every moment of it. Of course, she wasn't exactly feeling particularly confident of herself or calm; on the contrary, she was terrified for her own well-being, and she had noticed that she had been a lot jumpier in this new environment.

But she was loving it, because traveling with the rebels like this filled her with purpose, and (dare she admit it), a strange sort of excitement and drive that was quickly replacing the fear and uncertainty within her as the day wore on. It had started deep within her, a little flare of faith for the future that came to life in the moment Ranma told her that they were _real_ rebels who were fighting for a _real_ cause. It gave her something to hold on to, and for that she was immensely relieved, because as the day wore on, this flare began spreading through every fiber of her being.

Sitting here by this warm crackling fire, silent and thinking, Akane could hear this strange excitement now roaring in her ears. And she found that she liked the feeling. She liked it very much. It filled her, and she felt as though somehow she had managed to salvage her situation.

What would Kasumi and Nabiki say if she told them she were going to join rebels and rise up to overthrow the King, Akane wondered idly, playing with her hair. She almost chuckled at the thought.

Kasumi would smile, of course, and reply kindly with mild interest, "Oh, I don't know, Akane-chan. Rebellions can be very dangerous. Are you sure?" Or she might say, "It isn't very ladylike, is it, Akane-chan? Do make sure you prepare enough healing salve for yourself, won't you?"

Nabiki, of course, would peer at her for a moment and raise a brow in dubious scrutiny. "Rrrrrright," she might drawl, and grin amusedly at Akane.

In other words, neither Kasumi nor Nabiki would have believed her. In fact, Akane wasn't sure if she might have believed herself either. She would have scoffed and laughed it off, most likely.

But she was really going to do it. And she found that she had no regrets.

Being part of the rebels wasn't just going to be about overthrowing the greedy King and restoring the Maidens' honor. It wasn't entirely about avenging her sisters, although that issue was one of the main driving forces. Ranma had said the young women had been captured for King Dasier to… amuse himself with.

Akane didn't dare hope, but perhaps there might be a fleeting chance that her sisters might be among those captured pleasure women. After all, Kasumi and Nabiki were certainly considered attractive. Or perhaps they might have escaped or something. She didn't believe Ranma. He said there were no survivors of the invasion… but Akane herself was a survivor, wasn't she?

And in the event that they were really gone, then…

Akane sighed, tilting her head up to stare into the sky.

Then she would do what she could and make sure that Dasier received exactly what he deserved. After all, there must have been a reason why she had survived the invasion with no recollection whatsoever of how she escaped.

With luck like that, there had to be a reason why she was still alive. It must mean, Akane thought to herself absentmindedly, that Fate must have something in store for her. She wasn't one to waste a gift so precious.

It was a turning point, Akane sensed. This moment, sitting here in the forest by a fire, was a turning point in her life.

Her gaze fell upon Ukyo, where the several small spatulas strapped onto her belt caught her attention. A plan began to take form in Akane's mind, and when Akane had a plan, she found it incredibly hard to resist. Shiny and sharp, one little spatula was just what she needed…

Sighing softly, Akane touched her hair and found that it was dry. Tomorrow she would carry out her plan, she promised herself. With a tired smile, she laid her head down and let herself succumb to sleep.

* * *

Ranma was rudely awakened by the sound of Ukyo screaming his name loudly. It was the second consecutive morning he had been rudely awakened by someone shouting or screaming for his attention, and he was _not_ pleased.

"Ran-chan!" yelled Ukyo, and Ranma detected worry in her voice. Ukyo was a laid-back sort of girl; she rarely got worried. For her to be worried it would mean that something out of the limits of her capability had occurred, and Ranma knew, Ukyo was a very capable woman indeed.

He was beginning to dread being woken up this way; it always seemed to be a prelude to a bad day. Concerned, he swung himself out of the high branch he had been lying on and dropped onto the ground lightly. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Ukyo waved a hand around. "You didn't see Akane, did you?" she asked.

Ranma shook his head slowly. "Jeez, that was it, you mean?" he answered shortly. "She could have gone to the stream or something… nothing to worry about, Ucchan."

"Oh?" his long-time friend retorted, swinging a wild gaze at him. "How many small spatulas am I carrying, Ran-chan? Tell me, quick."

Ranma peered at Ukyo weirdly. "You feeling okay, Ucchan? I mean…"

"Tell me!" she interrupted.

He counted. "…Five," he said finally.

"Exactly!" Ukyo snapped her fingers, looking worried. Ranma was beginning to feel more than a little confused. Waving away his bewilderment, Ukyo wrung her hands uncomfortably. "Last night, I went to sleep with _six_ spatulas," she said slowly. "Six small, shiny and _very_ _sharp_ spatulas. This morning I woke up, and I had five, not to mention Akane was missing."

"… Shit." He was beginning to see where this was heading, and he shook his head emphatically. "No, no way… She wouldn't have. Akane's a real macho chick, but even she wouldn't have been that stupid."

"No?" Ukyo whirled around, turning a sharp gaze on him. "I checked the stream, Ran-chan, she's not there. I've gone into the surroundings, but I haven't found her either." She paused, and then continued in a softer, more fearful tone. "She's lost her family, underwent a very stressful day, and made some of the most important decisions of her life in less than a full day. Last night, she wanted to stay up… and she looked a little more subdued than usual…"

"Shit. Shit, no," Ranma growled, but he could feel worry gnawing fretfully at him. "Split up and search," he directed immediately. "We'll comb this area until we find her."

"Got it," Ukyo nodded. Ranma began to stalk towards the nearest clump of trees. Then, feeling a sudden need to voice himself, he turned back and glanced towards Ukyo determinedly.

"Don't worry, Ucchan," he said firmly. "We'll find her. Akane wouldn't do something stupid like kill or hurt herself or something. She wouldn't."

His voice was firm, but it was also grim. Ukyo gazed at him for a moment before she nodded and headed off into the opposite direction.

Sighing, Ranma entered the forest.

* * *

_**To Be Continued…

* * *

**_


	6. Chapter Six

A/N: Yes I'm alive! It's been eons since I last updated, I know. I ought to be ashamed of myself, I know. I deserve to be pelted with raw eggs and tomatoes and whatnot, I know.

This has been the most taxing year of schooling I've gone through in my short miserable life of almost-sixteen years. (I've never survived on so little sleep before… now I look like I could be a close relative of the panda. -.-) Technically I shouldn't be updating now; I have 2 Chinese papers, 1 Math and 3 Japanese papers from Mon to Wed next week. (And none of these are particularly good subjects for me) -goes googly-eyed-

BUT IT'LL BE ALL OVER SOON. :D

Sorry for the long wait! Enjoy the chapter. C & C always appreciated.

* * *

**Kismet  
****A Ranma ½ Alternate Universe  
****By Andrina**

**Chapter 6**

* * *

"**_We may become makers of our fate when we have ceased to pose as its prophets."  
_****_- Sir Karl Popper (1902 – 1994)_**

* * *

Akane the Shrine Maiden, Ranma thought angrily, was a major pain in the ass. 

This was the brilliant conclusion that Ranma came to as he breezed through the forest with practiced ease, leaping effortlessly from branch to branch above the ground. It was only the second day of travel with the newest addition to the ranks, and already she was causing trouble. They could be well on their way by now, but _no_, she just had to go off and disappear with one of Ukyo's spatulas, leaving them hanging in the dark.

Oh, he wasn't worried about her. Akane was a smart girl, Ranma knew. She could be stubborn like a mule, and a bit blind, but she was definitely more sensible that he would like to give her credit for. So he was quite sure that the dark-haired young woman would not have deliberately put herself in any danger.

No, she was too much of a hellcat to let difficulties drag her down.

Now, all that Ranma had to do was to find her somewhere in this stupid forest and they could continue on their way. Of course, he would have to yell at her a bit: leaving without telling the others was not only incredibly stupid, but it was completely unacceptable. What the hell did she think she was doing anyway?

Then he found her. He could not explain it, but knew it was her, because he could sense her. For lack of a better description, he knew it was her, because he could feel her very presence infused in the surroundings, in the way the grass trembled and the bushes rustled. A flash of brown and gray from within the thick shrubbery only served to confirm this, and uttering a cry of triumph, he dropped from the trees and into the bushes, hoping to punish Akane by giving her the shock of her life.

So you could imagine Ranma's surprise, when he came face to face with a stranger.

* * *

Akane fought the urge to laugh out loud. She wished she had some way to freeze time for an instant, just so she could capture that stunned expression on Ranma's face. You could call it surprise, or you could call it shock, but whatever it was, Akane had a feeling that she would rarely be seeing such a look on Ranma's face anytime soon. 

But, unable to capture his stunned look, Akane had to content herself with folding her hands behind her back patiently as she waited for Ranma's hesitant surprise to abate, all the while holding back that smile that threatened to break free.

At last, Ranma seemed to regain some use of his tongue. "A-Akane?" he ventured carefully, still staring at her intently like she was some kind of new sub-species of human.

She shifted, a bit uncomfortable now in the increasing intensity of his gaze. "Hi."

"Y-your hair…" said Ranma intelligently. "It's… it's _short_."

Akane wished he would stop gawking. Reaching up to tug self-consciously at the shorn locks, she gave a little shrug. "Yeah, well, hair tends to get shorter after you cut it," she answered as breezily as she could. "I've never done this before, but I thought I did a pretty good job of it… what's wrong, does it look bad?"

She could not explain it, but for some reason she felt vaguely anxious about Ranma and Ukyo's response.

With her haircut, Akane felt exposed somehow, with the way the short dark locks leaving the back of her neck naked to the breeze. She wanted some reassurance that she had done the right thing. She wanted some reassurance that cutting her hair, just like joining Ranma and the rebels, was the right thing to do.

Unfortunately, Ranma wasn't going to give her this sort of reassurance. He seemed to have regained full use of his tongue now, and with it, the ability to spit insults and jeers at her. "You mean to say you've been gone all this time so you could cut your stupid hair off!" he yelled suddenly, taking a menacing step towards her.

Akane scowled, all goodwill disappearing in an instant. "I've only been gone a while! You think it's that easy to trim hair?" she snapped angrily. Then, as an afterthought: "And my hair is not stupid!"

"It is too!" came the furious retort. "You look even uglier now; it really brings out the gorilla in you!"

Akane was silent.

Ranma bit back the next insult that he was about to deal out. Hesitating, he took a step closer. "Oi, cat got your tongue, Akane?" he asked.

"RANMA, YOU JERK!"

In the next moment, Ranma was sprawled over the forest floor, watching mini-Akanes dance before his eyes and swing their tiny fists energetically. The real Akane was stomping away huffily, judging by the way the ground thudded ominously.

Damn, Ranma thought dizzily. Akane had a good right hooker.

Moments later, Ranma felt, rather than saw, a cool shadow falling over his crumpled figure. Ukyo, he guessed, and true to his word, Ukyo was hovering worriedly over him when he cracked open his eyes, ready to poke at him insistently with her toe.

"Ran-chan," said Ukyo cautiously. "You're on the forest floor."

Ranma grunted intelligently in reply, pushing himself up slowly. Geez, Akane sure was violent…

Ukyo seemed to have come to the same conclusion, because the worry on her face soon melted away into a look of exasperation. "I assume you found Akane," she deduced pointedly, and Ranma nodded grumpily in affirmation. "Then you said something dumb, and she decked you," Ukyo continued guessing.

Ranma winced. Well, that did sound a bit harsh, but…

"Oh, Ran-chan!" Ukyo nearly moaned. "You're supposed to _find_ her, not chase her away!"

"It's not my fault!" her childhood accomplice groaned sulkily, bristling. "She wasn't even supposed to go running away like that with sharp little spatulas. She had it coming!"

"And so did you," Ukyo retorted sternly. "Honestly, you two are childish. Can't you get along? Don't you get sick of fighting? It's only been two days since Akane joined us!"

Ranma paused. Indeed, it had only been two days, but somehow it felt as though it had been two years instead. Akane seemed to have seeped into their lives completely. Uncomfortable with this train of thought, he tried to change the subject. "She got herself a new haircut with your spatula," he remarked.

"Let me guess," Ukyo said thoughtfully, extending a hand towards him to help him off the ground. "You told her she looked ugly."

Ranma seemed to shrink a little. "Yeah, well, kinda. I told her it really brought out the gorilla in her…" he recalled slowly, mindful of the tongue-lashing he was about to receive from Ukyo.

Moments later, Ranma was wandering through the forest, sporting not just a bruise on his chin, but a lump on his head from Ukyo's fist. Find her and bring her back, Ukyo had growled, and boy, was she threatening. "Men!" Ukyo had bemoaned huffily before stomping her way back to their camp site.

Ranma sighed, turning his gaze heavenwards. Women were such a pain.

Akane was at the stream when Ranma arrived for her. No, correction, Akane was _moping_ at the stream when Ranma arrived for her.

She knew it was him when she first heard the deliberate crunch of grass a short distance away from her. Ranma was good, she knew. If he really wanted to sneak up on her, she wouldn't know it until he was right behind and scaring the hell out of her. So, she guessed, this was Ranma's way of announcing his arrival.

"You hit me hard," Ranma broke the silence grumpily, rubbing the growing bruise on his chin as he came to stand beside Akane. He kept a slight distance between them, of course: what if she went crazy and tried to deck him again? One bruise was bad enough, thank you very much.

"You called me a gorilla," Akane responded coolly, shredding a blade of grass vehemently from where she was seated. "It wasn't funny."

Really? I thought it was, he wanted to retort, but before he could, he clamped his lips tightly together, not wanting to worsen the situation. Ranma might be hot-headed and obnoxious, but he was certainly smart enough to keep quiet when he knew he had to. Besides, he already had one bruise decorating his chin; he didn't want a second one covering his eye.

"Oi, Akane," he began awkwardly.

She ignored him.

"Akane," he tried again. "Let's go. We don't have the time to laze around anymore."

She was still ignoring him.

Then Ranma had an idea. Tucking his hands behind his head, he took a step closer to her, grinning to himself. "You know," he began casually. "You look kind of cute with short hair."

He heard Akane suck in a breath and glance up sharply at him, her eyes widening in a mix of bewilderment and shyness. Ranma's grin grew bigger; maybe now she would listen to him and go back to the camp site and they would get on their way…

But he certainly did not expect her face to suddenly light up in a dazzling smile. He did not expect her to get to her feet slowly, still smiling prettily at him. He did not expect her to close the distance between them meaningfully, beaming up at him.

"Ranma…" Akane breathed softly, and his breath caught in his throat suddenly. When had she become so close? But before he could stay anything, she pressed one of those small hands against his chest and asked wonderingly, "You think I look cute?"

He was flustered. "Uh, Akane, I--" he struggled to voice himself, amid the sudden warmth that had enveloped him.

Then, unexpectedly, her eyes shone with mirth. Before Ranma could react, a laugh tore from her lips.

Before he could react, Akane, that bitch, cheerfully shoved him backwards into the stream.

Ranma emerged from the stream coughing and sputtering as he pushed wet hair out of his eyes. Embarrassment forgotten, he glared up at the laughing girl. "What the hell was that for?" he bellowed angrily.

In response, Akane smiled, and he noticed it was a genuine smile, devoid of hostility and awkwardness. "You didn't mean it, did you?" she asked then, shaking her head. Noting his look of bewilderment, she let out a laugh. "Never mind, Ranma," she sighed, but there was amusement in her voice. Turning, she raised her hand to give him a little wave.

"I'll see you back at the camp site," she offered with a smile, and then she was off, breaking into a quick jog.

Ranma stared at her retreating back. Women… he could never understand them. Then he felt heat gathering in his face.

So maybe she _was_ kind of cute.

* * *

Ryoga was feeling a little sheepish. 

After wandering around in circles for a good part of the afternoon the previous day, Sango had finally cottoned on to the fact that Ryoga was, to put it bluntly, simply hopeless at directions and finding his way around. So, she had taken it upon herself to read the map that they were required to carry around at all times.

Of course, after Ryoga accidentally lost sight of her and wandered off in the opposite direction for the third time, Sango had whipped out a coil of rope and secured one end to Ryoga's belt while she held the other end firmly in one hand.

Hence, Ryoga was feeling rather ridiculous at being led around like this. Sango, on the other hand, had been very adamant about it, refusing to let him take off the rope even when they stopped for the night. After he tried to raise it up to her for the seventh time, she began polishing her weapon in a very threatening manner, and Ryoga (wisely) backed off.

What was it with girls and monster weapons anyway? Ukyo carried around this humongous killer spatula, while Sango liked to play around with a gigantic boomerang. Ryoga swore that it had to be some intricately complicated female thing.

"Hibiki," Sango broke the silence then, sounding particularly distant. "Hibiki, we are going to have to travel past Mount Shikon before we reach Sukuno."

Ryoga shrugged uncertainly. "So?" he asked.

Sango did not reply for a moment. Then: "Before we stop for the night this evening, could we go somewhere else first?" Her request was quiet and serious.

Ryoga nodded uncomfortably. "Fine, I guess," he answered. "We aren't in a big hurry anyway."

Sango turned then, and she smiled briefly before she turned back. "Thank you," she said.

Ryoga could be quite dense at times, but he did notice that her smile did not quite reach her eyes.

* * *

"Where'd she go?" 

Ukyo bit back a yelp at the low dangerous growl as she whirled around to face a dripping wet Ranma, before struggling to keep back the giggle that rose up in her throat. In her years with Ranma and Ryoga, she had grown so used to Ranma's presence that it simply didn't register when he came into her surroundings anymore. And, in a way, she was glad, because that meant that it had not softened the impact when she first turned around to greet a soaked Ranma.

With his dangerous glare, twitching eyebrow and flat wet hair, Ranma's expression was priceless. "Where'd she go?" he repeated darkly, flicking wet hair out of his eyes and sending water spraying.

Ukyo coughed, hiding a smile delicately behind slim fingers. "I don't know," she answered, and it was true. Akane had flounced into the camp site gleefully some time ago, despite Ukyo's open-jawed surprise at her haircut. Evading all of Ukyo's questions with an air of satisfaction, she had relit the fire with that cool little fireball trick of hers.

"You'll see why," Akane had told her pleasantly, before taking off into the forest again.

"Here, Ran-chan," Ukyo gestured to the merrily burning fire with a small smile. "Akane lit a fire for you. Go dry yourself off."

With a growl, Ranma dropped down next to the fire grudgingly, leaving a huge wet spot on the ground. Sighing, he began to pull off his top and wring the water out of it resignedly. Ukyo watched her childhood friend for a moment.

Those muscles and those boyish good looks… Ukyo heaved a little wistful sigh. It had been years since her childhood crush on Ranma had waned, but oh boy, a girl could appreciate a piece of art when she saw it, couldn't she? Ah, those were the days, when she would pander to Ranma's whims with a bright smile on her face.

But as time passed, and Ranma remained so annoyingly oblivious to her girlish crush, Ukyo eventually grew out of her crush. Ranma was sweet, but she didn't really love him in the way that she thought she had. She loved him for his ideas, and for their friendship, but he wasn't really the man she wanted to settle down with, someday in the future.

Oh yes, contrary to common belief, Ukyo did want to get married one day, after they were done with overthrowing Dasier.

Back to the point. These days, in Ukyo's opinion, she was more likely to whack Ranma with her spatula for doing something dumb than to swoon after him in girlish wonder.

But Ukyo had had always been a perceptive girl. Ukyo liked to think that she was adaptable to change; that she caught on quickly to developments and that she could deal with them pretty well.

You see, there was an idea taking root in Ukyo's mind, and perhaps, it was taking root in her heart as well. It was a bit of a foggy idea, a bit unrealistic maybe, but it was an idea all the same, and Ukyo took pride in her ideas.

As arrogant and rude as Ranma could be sometimes, Ukyo knew her friend well, and she truly wanted the best for him. She had noticed that there has always been a certain protective streak in Ranma, and he sought to always protect the people around him.

That was why he was leading them into a rebellion in the first place.

But despite all this, there were times when Ranma needed someone to fight for him too. Akane was a fighter, Ukyo knew. She barely knew the girl, but this she knew. Akane was a fighter, and she would fight to the end for Ranma if she had to. She had never met anyone else who could get under Ranma's skin that well before. Surely, that in itself must mean something.

Perhaps, Ukyo thought in a mix of tender sad introspection as she left the campsite to collect some food supplies in preparation of their travels, Ranma might find his own happiness in Akane one day.

* * *

Akane returned to the campsite to find one scowling Ranma. One scowling, bare-chested Ranma. 

Of course, he was merely wringing out his wet clothes, and of course, she glanced away in polite respect for him, but unfortunately, it wasn't enough to stop the vivid blush from rising up in her cheeks. You couldn't really blame Akane, of course; after all, in her entire life as a Maiden, it wasn't every day that she would come face to face with scowling, well-built, bare-chested young men. Fortunately for her, Ranma seemed to be completely oblivious, so Akane tried to cool her heated cheeks hurriedly, banishing all unladylike, improper thoughts.

Not that she _liked_ Ranma. Ranma was the most uncivilized, uncouth male she had ever had the displeasure of meeting. She must have done something wrong in her past life to be forced to become stuck with him on a long journey like this. Ranma was a jerk: a mean, loud-mouthed, insensitive, egoistic, rude, perverted, horrible jerk.

Although, Akane admitted quietly to herself, he was also one of the best-looking.

Still… she smiled suddenly, remembering what had happened back at the stream. She had been angry then, undeniably upset. Yet, when Ranma came over and tried to get on her good side (even if he hadn't meant a word of it), it had cleared her bad mood from the air. Suddenly, she couldn't be bothered to care anymore over such a stupid argument.

Of course, that didn't mean that she was willing to let him get away with his teasing. For a stunt like that, he deserved to be shoved into the stream. Stupid jerk. Akane grinned in satisfaction. She would be remembering the look of stunned surprise on Ranma's face for a long, long, long time to come.

But now that she had had her fun, it was time to make amends. In spite of herself, Akane had to admit that Ranma was a pretty good-natured young man. Sure, he was an insensitive jerk and he seemed to constantly bring out the worst in her, but he had been remarkably kind to her. She had heard snippets of rumors and stories; Ranma could be a very dangerous man when he wanted to be.

After all, he was leading a rebellion against a tyrant King and his armies. Ranma had probably seen more in his years on the road than she could imagine. Somewhere deep inside her (and coupled with the constant prodding by Ukyo), Akane knew that she should really try to control her temper better. She only hoped Ranma, being the pigheaded idiot he was, would have the decency to at least _try_ to do the same.

With such sentiments, Akane approached the scowling Ranma with a bright smile. "Hello, moron," she greeted cheerfully, and winced when Ranma's scowl deepened. Okay, so maybe that wasn't a very good start to her attempt at making amends. Noting that Ranma's mouth had opened in preparation for a loud nasty protest, Akane beat him to it quickly. "Be quiet and come here," she instructed authoritatively.

Grudgingly the young man agreed. Risk the wrath of Akane the Maiden? Nah, Ranma would rather live a longer life. Still, the displeasure on his face was almost palpable as he approached Akane. Unable to help herself, Akane grinned, an indicator of her buoyant mood. "I won't bite," she chirped brightly, and Ranma resisted rolling his eyes at her horribly good mood.

For a long moment, Akane stared at him. There was something clinical as she assessed his face, her eyes hovering specifically on the purpling bruise on his chin that she had given him earlier that day. Then, abruptly, she shifted that same mildly creepy gaze to his shoulder, where she had hit him yesterday, and stared intently on a similar bruise. Just when Ranma was beginning to feel slightly uncomfortable, Akane slapped her small hands on his bare shoulders and pushed him down enthusiastically.

"Sit down," she said almost excitedly. "I haven't made any healing salve in ages; I hope I managed to get it right this time."

Finally understanding her intentions, Ranma sank to his knees grumpily. "What am I?" he complained. "Your guinea pig?"

In reply, she batted him lightly with one hand, while her free hand reached into the folds of her skirt to withdraw a small container of something green and pasty-looking. "Be quiet," she admonished, although her words lacked any real bite. "You're going to distract me, you jerk."

It was then that he felt tentative fingers touching the bruise on his chin gently. A second later, he felt the soothing coolness of the salve being worked lightly into his skin. Peering down, Ranma was confronted with the sight of Akane spreading salve awkwardly on his chin with an odd look of sheepish concentration.

"Stop staring at me," Akane mumbled suddenly, flushing angrily.

Ranma grunted, but looked away.

It was hard, Ranma realized after a moment of reluctant silence, to stay angry with a girl who was spreading healing salve on your huge bruises. In spite of himself, he glanced back down at the petite young woman before him. Her fingers were moving around in gentle circles now, and even Ranma had to admit that it felt quite soothing.

"You better have made this salve correctly," he jibed, but it was more to break the silence than to actually aim an insult at her. Even though it was only mid-morning, he felt as though half the day had flown past already.

Jeez, life with Akane sure was exciting, he thought dryly.

"Shut up," Akane returned him cheerfully. "I'm good at this." Then, as an afterthought, "I just need more practice, that's all."

Ranma was beginning to feel a little worried for his skin.

Strangely enough, calm was beginning to settle over them both. Relaxing for the first time that day, Ranma let his eyes drift shut for a long moment, before opening them to gaze neutrally at the pale blue of the sky.

"Hey, Akane?" he couldn't remember another time when he had addressed her so… _mildly_.

"Hmm?" came the intelligent attentive reply from the dark-haired girl as she dabbed and poked at his bruise.

He didn't know what possessed him to ask. Maybe he wanted to make conversation. Maybe he noticed that there was something sad about the way she held her healing salve close to her. "You had… two sisters?" his question came out quieter than he would have liked; he almost sounded concerned.

Akane's fingers stopped momentarily, before carrying on with the task at hand. Something flitted across her face, but in the next instance, she was nodding, smiling neutrally. "Yeah," she answered simply. "Kasumi and Nabiki."

"Oh." Then: "What were they like?"

In a way, Akane supposed she was glad Ranma had asked. It gave her something to talk about, and as painful as she found the subject to be, she had a sudden urge to tell someone about her sisters.

"Well," she began, with her voice certainly lighter than her heart. "For starters, Kasumi is the sweetest person to ever walk the earth. She cooks, she cleans, she's beautiful, and she endears herself to just about every man, woman and animal around.

"Nabiki, on the other hand, would be better off as a merchant than a Maiden, I think," Akane paused, laughing silently. "She always wanted to dabble in business, and she was good at it, too. She could talk a cow into giving her its hide." Then she smiled slightly. "I think you would have been scared by her, Ranma."

"Oh?" Ranma remarked skeptically. Akane withdrew her fingers from his chin and began spreading salve on the bruise on his shoulder instead.

"She used to talk all the younger Maidens into doing her share of cleaning up for her," Akane continued wryly. "And she would con the older Maidens into doing her homework for her."

"Jeez, are all you sisters such terrors?" Ranma commented offhandedly.

And before she knew it, she was telling him all about her childhood. The day when she sneaked off into the river to play (and nearly drowned because she realized she was absolutely hopeless at swimming). The day when Kasumi tried to teach her to cook (and she single-handedly burnt three pots, five towels and one wooden spoon and was subsequently banned from the kitchen for the rest of her life). The day when Nabiki talked one of the old Maidens into giving her a bag of sweet cakes, which they ate secretly in the privacy of their rooms.

The day she came of age to receive her cord of gold and how Kikyo, the Head Priestess, carefully secured it around her neck. The night they celebrated, and she remembered singing and laughing around the fire with the Maidens who had risen into their new ranks with her. The day when Kasumi showed her a rabbit in the forest. The day when the invasion came and how the rabbit ran away in terror. The day they fled from the invasion.

And suddenly she was wiping her tears away roughly. "Sorry," she muttered, turning away in embarrassment. She hadn't meant to get all emotional, and in front of Ranma, no less! She just wanted to tell him about her sisters and the Maidens she had grown up with.

The young man in question was now tugging at his pigtail in discomfort. He could deal with swords and tyrant kings and assassins and murder. But crying girls? Too dangerous. "Guess you're not all herb-lovers?" he offered finally, when Akane seemed composed enough.

He was relieved when she cracked him a smile, albeit a sad one.

"Do you have any siblings, Ranma?" she asked then.

He shrugged, receiving a weak bat from Akane as she tried to rub the ointment into his bruise evenly. "Nah," he answered. "Not that I know of anyway."

He didn't like where this conversation was going. Damn, why did he open his big mouth anyway? Now she was going to get all nosy.

"What about your parents? You don't see them much, do you?" Akane continued, keeping her voice light. She did not seem to notice the way the muscles in his cheek tightened subtly, or the way the previous pleasantness in his eyes had now faded to calm neutrality.

"What are your parents like?" she asked and abruptly her voice seemed distant.

All he could see before him was a sweep of auburn hair and smooth grey-blue silk. Suddenly he was a child again, enveloped by warm laughter and noisy guffaws. Lilacs, he remembered. Sweet pale lilacs and the smell of tea and love and home.

"Ranma?" Akane's voice rang out then, crashing down rather painfully on him. "Ranma… are you okay? You're blanking out on me."

He jerked away from her, suddenly angry and wounded. Ignoring her sound of surprise, he leapt to his feet. "Thanks, but that's enough for today," he told her curtly. "I ain't needing your herbs anymore."

And before Akane could react, he was stalking away from her, stopping to grab his still-damp shirt from where it lay near the fire.

She watched him go in bewilderment, and in spite of herself, hurt was slowly trickling in. There had been something peaceful and comforting about their conversation before it took a turn for the worse at the end, just like their tentative truce back at the river two nights before. She did not understand what she did wrong, but she felt as though something had been left gaping as he stalked away.

Akane did not like this feeling very much.

* * *

Sango had taken him to a ghost village, thought Ryoga with growing unease. 

The place was deserted, save for the occasional dust bunny that rolled past forlornly. Most of the houses, as far as Ryoga could see, were in pretty bad condition, although they were certainly sturdy enough to hold a traveler or two for the night.

There was something melancholic about this place. Ryoga shifted uncomfortably. The emptiness of the village itself seemed to speak of a life and contentedness long gone.

The village seemed to be waiting for something.

Sango did not seem to be perturbed by the silence of the place, choosing instead to dart in and out of the empty houses, a look of cold concentration on her face. She even had no problems maneuvering between the scattered gravestones. (Here, Ryoga's brows shot up: _gravestones_!) He wisely chose to hang back in silence.

Finally Sango seemed satisfied, emerging from one of the houses with brooms in hand. "Here," she said brusquely, tossing him one of the brooms. Clearly, she was in a bad mood, and Ryoga, with his endless knowledge of the female species, knew better than to talk back. "Help me," she said, and ignoring his confused expression, walked over to the cluster of gravestones and began to sweep the area of fallen leaves.

Slowly, he shuffled over to the gravestones and followed her heed. Sango's face and tone were tight, but she swept with a tenderness that belied her expression, clearing the area meticulously of leaves and twigs.

Sweeping gave way to weeding, and before Ryoga could keep track of time, they were both on their knees, yanking weeds that had covered the graves. Ryoga didn't mind doing this actually; he had always been fond of manual labor. It gave him time to think while keeping his hands busy.

Besides, this was being respectful to the dead. He had many questions to ask Sango, but he could already guess the answers to most of them. He understood her feelings. And for that, he would comply with her wishes for today, even if technically, he was her superior in the ranks of the rebels.

It was some time before he noticed that Sango had stilled, resting one hand on the cracked stone of one of the graves. She was gazing at the stone sadly, and suddenly she leaned forward, touching her cheek to the rough stone.

"This is my father's grave," she said quietly. "The one you are cleaning now belongs to my brother."

She was alone in this world now, this girl. Ryoga glanced down solemnly. He had heard of how Sango came to join them. Her entire village had been wiped out by bandits. He was guessing that she must have buried them all.

"I try to come back here once every year to clean the graves." Then her face clouded in unhappiness. "And also, to check for looting." Pushing herself to her feet, Sango spread one arm out towards her village. "Most of the stuff has been taken away by looters," she bit out angrily.

A short distance away, a twig snapped into half.

Perhaps it was pure instinct. Perhaps it was the years or months of training drilled into them both when they had joined the rebels. Before she knew it, Sango had grabbed her boomerang and flung it towards the direction of the noise. Beside her, Ryoga slid automatically into a defensive stance, releasing one of his bandanas.

There came the sound of cloth ripping as Ryoga's bandana tore into something, followed by a masculine groan as the boomerang made contact. With a thud, the newcomer crumpled onto the forest floor. Cautiously, Ryoga moved towards the clump of trees where the intruder lay.

Seconds later, he backed out, looking mortified.

"Sango-san," Ryoga began, looking guilty. "We just took down a monk."

True enough, as Sango approached, there was a young man dressed in the purple and black robes of a Buddhist monk sprawled out over the forest floor.

"Damn," she uttered, wincing as she took in the lump forming on the monk's head where her boomerang had struck. "Oops?"

* * *

They had been traveling for several hours now, and dusk would be approaching soon. Ranma had been silent for most of the journey, walking ahead and leading the way. Having known him for a few years now, Ukyo knew that this meant that something was bothering Ranma. She had tried asking him, but today he seemed to have clammed up even more than usual, refusing to answer any of her questions. So she had left him alone, hopeful that he might work out something by himself and help in getting the atmosphere lightened up. 

Akane trailed a little behind her. It could be that the young Maiden was not used to traveling such distances on foot. If she were tired, she did not show a sign of it. However, it was more likely that Akane was brooding. Ukyo could almost see the waves emanating from Akane darkly as she chewed on her bottom lip, her thoughts obviously jumbled and faraway.

Something had happened, and Ukyo was being left in the dark. The brunette frowned, wrinkling her nose slightly. Fine, that suited her all right. Serve them both right if they couldn't look past their newest feud to take in the scenery.

But after traveling for nearly a whole day now, they were fast approaching the town of Isha. And just in time too; the sun was beginning to set. Personally, Ukyo did not like traveling in the forest after dark. She sucked in a deep breath, eager to be back in the life and bustle of civilization.

She could tell Akane was beginning to get restless as well. After all, it was hard not to notice the dim distant noises from the town. Now that the sky was getting dark, it was also getting hard not to notice how light was emitting from behind the stretch of forest ahead of them.

They were picking up speed now. Evidently, Ranma too was eager to get back to civilization. The town of Isha… Ukyo tapped her chin thoughtfully. Ah, she knew why Ranma was so eager to get to Isha. Isha was a place of business and trade, with merchants and travelers streaming in and out of the place constantly. Isha was a safe place to be in; the King would be hard-pressed to pin down anyone in that bustling crowded town.

More importantly, Isha was a place where many of their valuable contacts could be located.

By the time they entered the town of Isha, night had truly fallen. For a moment, Akane stopped momentarily in her tracks, staring dazedly. The streets were not dim and quiet, as she might have expected. Rather, they were literally _thrumming_ with people. Raucous laughter broke through occasionally, and the entire place was decorated gaily with brightly burning orange lanterns.

"Akane?" Ukyo gave her a strange look. "You okay?"

For a moment, the girl did not answer, her eyes darting around rapidly as she took in the sights. Then she seemed to give herself a little shake, a reassuring grin appearing on her face. "Sorry," she said quickly. "I got kind of stunned… Why are there so many people out at night?"

Ukyo's brow furrowed. "It's just a festival, honey," she stated uncertainly. Extending her arm to their surroundings, Ukyo continued, "If I'm not wrong, Isha holds a festival every year to celebrate and pray for a good year of profit."

"Festival?" Akane pronounced carefully. Suddenly she broke into a bright smile. She had heard about the elaborate festivals the villagers liked to hold, but not once in her life as a Maiden in the mountains had she actually witnessed one before. When she had been thirteen, some of the older Maidens returned from a healing trip to the village at the bottom of the mountains, gushing excitedly about having caught a festival. People didn't stay at home at night, they trilled. They lit up the roads with lanterns and candles and oil lamps, and everyone came out in bright clothes to laugh and have fun.

Sweeping her gaze around, Akane could finally comprehend the excitement those girls had radiated back then. The bright lanterns, the boisterous laughter, and the tantalizing smell of food penetrating every corner of the streets… This was something the Maidens had never experienced before. She had never seen so many people jostling animatedly on the streets at night before. The lanterns helped too; they bathed the place in flickering warm orange light.

Akane felt like a child, fascinated and unbelievably excited. "I've never been to a festival before…" she said slowly.

"We ain't got time for that," Ranma broke in suddenly. It was the first thing he had said in ages, earning him looks of surprise from the two young women behind him. Turning, he eyed Akane critically. "Ucchan, can you get her some clothes for traveling? In the meantime, stock up on some supplies. I'm going to take care of something else."

Ukyo smiled then. Picking up supplies, eh? He knew as well as she did that they had no urgent need to replenish the medical and food rations they carried on them yet. It was just Ranma's way of giving in to the obvious fascination in Akane's eyes: he was asking Ukyo to show Akane around.

"We'll meet you in the town square in two hours, Ran-chan," she acknowledged, and with a nod, Ranma had turned on his heel, disappearing into the masses of people thronging the streets.

"So, it's just you and me now, Akane-chan," Ukyo grinned suddenly, and Akane took a wary step backwards. Grabbing her hand, Ukyo began to drag the dark-haired girl headfirst into the crowds. "Come on, sugar! We're going _shopping_!"

* * *

The monk groaned quietly. 

Instantly, their gazes shifted warily, and perhaps, guiltily to the prone form in the middle of the room. Ryoga set down the stick he had been using to poke at the fire, and across the room, Sango placed her half-polished boomerang on the ground carefully. In silent mutual understanding, they moved stealthily to the unconscious monk garbed in purple and black robes that they had unwittingly knocked out that afternoon.

Ryoga hoped that he wouldn't have to suffer too much in his afterlife for hitting a monk, of all people. They had even tried to make up for it, by dragging the poor unconscious man into one of the empty houses. They even tried to patch him up a bit, hurriedly slapping healing salve onto the monk's huge bruise.

This used to be my house, Sango had remarked, although Ryoga was unsure if she had meant for him to hear her comment.

They went about in silence after that. Ryoga started a fire. Dinner had been dry rations.

And now, the monk was beginning his painful return to the conscious world. Ouch. The lump looked pretty bad too. Come to think of it, that guy looked pretty young. He couldn't possibly be one or two years older than him and Sango.

That was when the monk's eyes slowly opened, and they were met with the sight of disorientated, striking violet.

For a moment, silence reigned. The monk was staring at them with a mix of confusion and suspicion. Frankly, Ryoga didn't blame him for doing that. If he were the one who awoke only to see two strangers peering hopefully down at him, he'd be feeling pretty jumpy too.

"How do you feel?" It was Sango who broke the silence. She had her hands pressed tightly in her lap, her expression quietly subdued.

The monk sat up, rubbing the lump on his head tenderly, his eyes traveling quickly around the room. "You two the ones who knocked me out?" he asked bluntly, not beating about the bush. His voice was calm and unsurprised, and on cue, both Sango and Ryoga winced a little with embarrassment.

"Our apologies," Sango answered finally. "We mistook you."

Finally, the monk's gaze came to a rest on her. She bore it down steadily, not flinching from the sharp violet gaze directed towards her. Unexpectedly, the monk smiled. "You two must have some bad enemies, if you were so jumpy as to attack a monk," he commented off-handedly.

In spite of herself, Sango colored. "That would be one way to put it," she admitted.

Abruptly, all traces of seriousness bled away and suddenly the monk was grinning madly. "Ah, I see, eloping, eh?" He reached out and gave Ryoga a hearty smack. "I can see it now: connected by your youthful passion for each other, you defy the wishes of your parents and flee into the wilderness, seeking happiness for yourselves!" Nodding benevolently, the monk smiled serenely. "I understand your jumpiness. All is forgiven."

He didn't seem to notice the way Sango and Ryoga's eyes were bulging out at the thought. "NO!" roared Ryoga finally in red-eared embarrassment. "Stop jumping to conclusions, monk! We're not a couple!"

"Oh?" said the monk, in mild surprise. "'Tis improper for a young woman such as yourself to be traveling with a male," he addressed Sango piously. "Is he your brother?"

Sango, cheeks suffused with brilliant pink horror, shook her head.

"Oh," the monk's brow furrowed. "A bodyguard?"

She shook her head.

"Your servant?"

"Hey!" came Ryoga's complaint. Again, Sango shook her head.

The monk scratched his head (and winced when he accidentally poked at his bruise). "Is he in any way related to you?"

She hesitated. But this time, Ryoga answered for her. "You could say she's my subordinate," he answered calmly.

"Oh?" the monk said lightly. He seemed to be saying that a lot, but there was something intelligent and knowing in that look of his. "I see."

With an inclination of his head, the young monk smiled. "My name is Miroku," he introduced. "And you two would be…?"

* * *

The shop they had entered was small and rustic, smelling faintly of spices and dust. Akane thought it was a strange combination, but before she could think so much of it, her gaze was caught by the rolls of cloth that lined the wall. 

"Excuse me!" Ukyo called, stepping deeper into the place. Many of the shops had remained open this night, not wanting to miss out on the crowds a festival generated. The shop they were in was swathed in bright light from a few strategically-located oil lamps. Even so, the shopkeeper was nowhere in sight.

"Coming!" someone called out from the back of the room. It was a female voice, clear and young and lilting. There was the sound of footsteps and seconds later, a young woman emerged from behind a drawn curtain, smiling politely.

Akane could not stop her eyes from widening. The girl had _purple_ hair! Well, to be fair, she also had a delicate face, a chiseled nose, big doe eyes and an impossibly curvaceous figure clothed flatteringly (and revealingly) in an exotic outfit of some sorts… but _purple_ hair!

"Welcome to Nekofukuten. (1) We sell too too good clothes for traveling and home," the girl recited cheerfully. "How can Shampoo help?"

Akane stared, even though somewhere in the back of her mind it registered that it was probably quite rude of her to do so. But the young woman who had introduced herself as Shampoo seemed to be at ease with the attention that the customers were giving her.

"Well," Ukyo said finally, clearing her throat and putting on a polite smile. "We're actually looking for some clothes for traveling. And," her brow furrowed but she continued anyway, "Something that will last through physical exertion."

Shampoo's eyes glinted. "Ah," she breathed, almost fondly. "Battle wear, yes?" Smiling knowingly, she turned slightly. "Shampoo call Great-Grandmother. Great-Grandmother will be wanting to help customers with this." Before the two young women could say another word, the exotic and clearly foreign shopkeeper turned and called out in another language to the other inhabitant of the shop.

It was a tiny shriveled old woman who emerged, hoping out from the back of the shop. beside her, Akane heard Ukyo take in a sharp breath.

"Amazonian elder," Ukyo greeted, nodding respectfully.

The old woman who had emerged peered over with a look of pleasant interest. "It seems you recognize this robes of mine, child?" she commented lightly, moving closer into the light.

"I've come across Amazons in my travels," Ukyo answered. It was true; they had met a few Amazons out in the outskirts of Nerima once. However… they resembled men more than they did women. They were wild violent women, formidable in battle. You certainly wouldn't want to get on the bad side of an Amazon. Ukyo's gaze flickered over to Shampoo, who was smiling prettily. Shampoo, on the other hand, didn't resemble those Amazons they had met one bit.

"Is that so?" the old woman croaked. "I am Cologne. Now, how can we help you? Shampoo tells me you need battle wear?" She was certainly old and wrinkled, but there was no missing that sharp question in her voice.

"Yes, we are training for many battles to come," Ukyo replied neutrally. "Akane is new to this, so she needs the apparel necessary for our training together."

"Training… eh?" Cologne pondered this for a moment, before she broke into a knowing smile. "I like you two. Very well, I shall service you. Shampoo, take the girl's measurements."

"Yes!" the lavender-haired woman beamed, approaching Akane while brandishing a measuring tape. "We dress you good," she declared prettily. "Amazons always dress good."

* * *

An hour and three outfits later, they paid and left. "Perhaps we will meet again someday," said Cologne mysteriously. Ukyo suspected that the Amazon elder knew who they were and what they did, but if she did, then she chose not to say a word of it. They had bid the old woman and her great-granddaughter goodbye with politeness and respect; after all, Amazon contacts would be extremely valuable, should they ever need them in the future. Shampoo sent them off, waving exuberantly at the door and somehow, that action seemed to emphasize her abundant assets even more than ever. 

"So, how do you like your new clothes, Akane-chan?" Ukyo begun conversationally as they moved away from the Nekofukuten. "Cologne and Shampoo were pretty good, if I do say so myself." She sighed girlishly. "Did you see all the gorgeous fabrics they had?"

In spite of herself, Akane nodded enthusiastically. When Shampoo had shown them into a small room containing the cloths they used for all their 'battle wear', as Shampoo put it, they had been accosted by the sight of dozens of rolls of cloth: deep rich reds, smooth silky greens, rippling soothing blues. All the cloths they had in here were valued not only because of their striking colors, but more importantly, the way they managed to both adhere and flow around a body. The cloths were light, but not thin. They looked delicate and beautiful, but they were certainly not easily ripped.

"Is Amazon secret," Shampoo had explained proudly. "Perfect art of weaving."

They had left with three outfits: a safe warm gray one for everyday use, and two sets of traveling attire. Get the red one, Ukyo had nodded approvingly. It looks good and durable, and besides, red reminds me of your name. The other one they picked had been in green; Ukyo said it would be useful if they had to move through the forests quickly.

Akane pulled shyly at the red garb she was wearing. "It looks and feels nice," she admitted, although that was a bit of an understatement. The Amazons sure took pride in their work: the material was gorgeous, both clinging and flowing around her body. It made her feel almost (dare she say it?) s_ensual_, in a way. Turning a bit red, she continued in the most pious tone she could muster, "It's just… a little…"

"Revealing?" Ukyo finished the sentence up for her, laughing. "Don't worry, most traveling women meaning business would dress like this. You're not even in a skirt! It's not that bad. Besides," she threw Akane a wink, making Akane flush self-consciously. "Amazons like to show off their assets. The clothes they make sure testify to that."

Suddenly she spun around, detecting the approaching presence of Ranma. "Over here!" Ukyo called out across the crowds, sticking an arm into the air and waving to the pigtailed young man. Catching sight of Ukyo and Akane, Ranma made his way towards him, slipping and out of the crowds with ease.

"Yo," he said in greeting as he approached them. "All done?"

Ukyo nodded, pointing to Akane. "Yeah. She looks pretty good, doesn't she, Ran-chan?" she smiled in satisfaction. "It's Amazon work, you know. We got a pretty good deal, I reckon."

Ranma rolled his eyes. "Che. Whatever," he muttered, turning his gaze in her direction.

Akane rolled her eyes in similar fashion at his comment. "I happen to like it," she interjected, if only to annoy Ranma and argue for the sake of arguing. All previous embarrassment with the outfit was easily forgotten. "It figures that a guy like you wouldn't be able to appreciate the high quality of the cloth the Amazons used to make this," she continued smartly, earning an approving giggle from Ukyo.

Perhaps it was a good thing Akane completely missed the way his gaze traveled down her figure, over the snug fitting deep red tunic with the Chinese collar, past the little strip of creamy midriff exposed, past the low-riding shorts that ended mid-thigh and over the generous expense of slender leg that ended in sturdy sandals.

If she had caught that look, she might have killed Ranma with her bare hands, superior or not.

"Che," Ranma repeated, suddenly feeling warm and uncomfortable before the two young women. Easger to get off the topic, he began to saunter off in the direction of the town inn, beckoning at them to follow. "Let's go, I already got us a place for the night."

They began to move off in the direction Ranma was leading them in. Excitement stirred, Ukyo quickened her pace to match up with Ranma's. "An inn?" Akane heard Ukyo sigh happily, tucking her hands behind her back. "Finally, we're going to stay in a place with a bed!"

That didn't sound like a half bad idea, decided Akane. She certainly hadn't enjoyed last night's sleep sprawled over the forest floor, and she had the bruises to show for it, too. She quickened her footsteps as she followed Ranma and Ukyo, not wanting to be left behind and alone in this boisterous mass of people.

Then it happened.

Perhaps it was fate. Perhaps it was mere coincidence. In any case, Akane would never know.

All that registered was that when she looked up, for no particular reason, into the crowds, she caught, for one split second, the briefest glimpse of Kasumi.

The woman standing several meters away from her had her face turned slightly as she spoke to someone by her side, but that slender built was unmistakably Kasumi's. And when her face lit up in that gentle kind smile, and wisps of shiny chestnut hair fell into her eyes as she laughed quietly, Akane knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that that woman was the Kasumi who had held her and comforted her all through their childhood.

She only had time to hear the sharp intake of her own breath, before the crowds swarmed in and swallowed her sister whole.

Sweet Kasumi was gone.

* * *

**_To Be Continued…_**

* * *

(1) Nekofukuten – Literally 'cat clothes shop'. :) 

If you have any feedback (eg. pace of story, characterisation, focus on characters etc.), I'll be happy to hear it and try to improve my writing:D


	7. Chapter Seven

_The woman standing several meters away from her had her face was turned slightly as she spoke to someone by her side, but that slender built was unmistakably Kasumi's. And when her face lit up in that gentle kind smile, and wisps of shiny chestnut hair fell into her eyes as she laughed quietly, Akane knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that that woman was the Kasumi who had held her and comforted her all through their childhood._

_She only had time to hear the sharp intake of her own breath, before the crowds swarmed in and swallowed her sister whole._

_Sweet Kasumi was gone._

_

* * *

  
_

**Kismet**

**A Ranma ½ Alternate Universe  
By Andrina**

**Chapter 7**

* * *

_"**Accept the things to which fate binds you, and love the people with whom fate brings you together, but do so with all your heart."  
- Marcus Aurelius (AD121 – 180)**_

**

* * *

  
**

Akane ran.

"Excuse me," she muttered to her companions without thinking, and then she was gone, slipping her way through the crowds with ease. Her steps were quick and frantic, her fists clenched tightly as she hurried towards the spot where Kasumi had been. People eyed her with brief interest before hurrying to move out of the way. After all, no one really wanted to get ploughed over by the clearly upset young woman who was trying so hard to get past. So Akane was left free to dart under arms and between bodies, mumbling half-formed apologies as she struggled past the hordes of people in her way.

Yet, by the time Akane burst out of the crowds to the spot where she had seen Kasumi, her sister was nowhere to be found.

Akane's heart plunged sharply inside her as she took in her surroundings. Never one to give up, she stood in the crowds, swinging a furious desperate gaze around her. People parted around her, staring at her strangely and grunting in annoyance as they passed. Yet, Akane ignored their looks, focusing only on the thought of her older sister. Where are you, Kasumi, where are you, she thought, and hated the way people kept getting into her way and obstructing her view.

She whirled around, searching the crowd behind her. Still no Kasumi. Akane was getting desperate.

Out of the blue, a hand clapped down hard on her shoulder. Instinctively she spun around, only to be greeted with the irritated scowl of Ranma. "Idiot!" the young man snapped sharply, tugging in annoyance on his braid. He jabbed her lightly on the arm, seemingly oblivious to her upset. "Where did you think you were going?" he demanded angrily. "You didn't even tell Ucchan and I! If you got lost, how the hell did you think we were supposed to find you?"

Before Akane even had a chance to respond, Ukyo came running up to join them, breathing slightly harder from the exertion. She skidded to a stop before the two of them, ready to join in Ranma's scolding. Unlike Ranma, however, the brunette seemed to be more attuned to Akane's anxiety, because her mouth snapped shut and her face immediately grew concerned. She stepped forward at once, gently prying Ranma's hand from Akane's shoulder. "Akane?" she began, searching the other girl's face carefully. "Akane, sugar, did something happen?"

In spite of herself, Akane could only nod. She blinked furiously as she craned her neck to look over Ranma's shoulder, as though Kasumi would appear again out of sheer will. But Kasumi did not appear, no matter how hard she wished it, and the heavy feeling that was now rapidly descending upon her threatened to take her breath away as soon as she drew it in. An awkward silence fell over them as they waited for Akane to reply. It took her another moment to compose herself and speak, and even when she did, it was in soft unsure tones.

"I saw my sister," Akane mumbled at last.

Immediately after she had spoken, however, she cursed how stupid she sounded. What was more, she sounded so afraid, so _unsteady_. Like she was crazy and stupid and having delusions or something like that. And, as she watched the looks of exasperation (in Ranma's case) and sympathy (in Ukyo's case) that came over her companions, she knew that it was exactly what they were thinking.

They didn't believe her. They didn't believe her one bit.

"Akane," said Ukyo kindly, and Akane felt the beginnings of a frustrated frown forming on her face. "When we get to the inn, I think we all better get some rest--"

"I didn't imagine it," she interrupted fiercely then, and shook off the gentle grip that Ukyo had placed on her hand. "Look, Ukyo, I saw Kasumi, and I didn't imagine things."

"Well, that's all very good," Ukyo replied. Was that a touch of impatience that Akane thought she had heard in the other woman's voice? "But you're tired, Akane. You need some rest. Heck, we all need some rest and sleep. So stop this, okay, honey? And let's just go to the inn right now."

Akane took an unconscious step back, away from her companions. "Just five minutes," she insisted quickly. "I… Just give me some time to look around, okay? I swear, I wasn't imagining things and besides--"

Abruptly, Ranma grabbed her wrist.

Stunned, Akane shut up, instinctively pulling away from him. Yet he held on firmly to her wrist, countering with a gentle but strong pull towards him. She opened her mouth to protest, but he beat her to it. "Your sister's most likely dead, Akane," Ranma said quietly. Painfully, Akane noted that there was no trace of derisiveness. In fact, there was nothing in his voice but quiet calm neutrality. "And even if she were not, she definitely isn't here right now."

Akane fell silent.

She stayed that way for a long while. In fact, she stayed silent even when they began to steer her gently towards the inn they were to stay at for the night. It wasn't until they were halfway to the inn that it vaguely registered that Ranma had kept his light grip on her wrist, and now he was tightening it in a way that seemed almost comforting. It took Akane another few seconds to realize that he was doing it because she was trembling ever so slightly, and that her breaths were coming in shorter and harder than before. She was shaking, shaking harder and harder, and she could tell that her companions were worried.

The worst thing was that no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't seem to stop.

They checked into the inn soon after.

Akane couldn't really remember the details of what happened, but later, when she was feeling more lucid and calm, she guessed that Ranma and Ukyo must have led her up to their room. In particular, Ukyo must have gotten her ready for bed. She could vaguely call up the memory of Ukyo leaning over her, pulling up the covers on the bed Akane found herself lying on and tucking her in gently. "Get some rest, Akane," the other woman had breathed, and Akane heard the note of worry and concern in her voice. It spoke of understanding and kindness, and yet Akane couldn't help but feel annoyance and obstinacy welling up within her. "It'll be better in the morning," Ukyo had promised at last, and had uncharacteristically tucked a lock of Akane's shorn hair behind her ear with surprising tenderness. The oil lamps were extinguished swiftly, and then Akane was left lying in the darkness, listening to the sounds of breathing of her companions.

They didn't have that much money to spare. Or rather, they had to be thrifty, so they were all sharing a room for the night. Ranma had let the two young women take the beds. "I'll take the floor," Akane distantly remembered him saying, and Ukyo had tossed him some covers to make himself a thin bedding. Now, in the semi-darkness of the room, she let her eyes close even though sleep refused to come for her.

Think, Akane, she thought. Think.

But like sleep, thoughts didn't seem to quite come either. She was just stuck there, reliving that precious split second that she spotted her sister with increasing anguish. The adrenaline of the past few days had dulled the grief she had felt so keenly at the start; yet, in one single moment, the emotions she thought she'd cried out already came flooding right back. Who was she kidding; she thought again, this time with more vehemence at herself. Those were Kasumi and Nabiki, her damned sisters! How _could_ she even begin to entertain the thought that she was getting over the disappearance of her sisters so quickly?

Damn, she thought and turned onto her side. Her fingers curled tightly around the edge of her covers. Against her will, she could feel searing wetness gather behind her closed eyelids. Damn, damn, _damn_.

Blinking rapidly, Akane pushed herself up, running nervous fingers through her short hair. She was beginning to develop a bad habit, she noted dryly. When she had been young, she used to react to anxiety by twisting her long hair between her fingers. Now that long hair was no longer quite an option, she had taken to running her fingers roughly through what remained. This is crazy, she breathed silently. Get a grip of yourself, you stupid girl. They're going to think that you're some kind of nutcase.

"Can't sleep, can you," came Ranma's voice suddenly, and it was soft so as not to wake the already dozing Ukyo. She started, turning blindly in the direction of his voice. In the dark, she could make out the faint outline of the pigtailed young man as he sat up. With a soft sigh, Ranma was up on his feet, beckoning to her as he headed towards the door. For a moment, Akane stared at him in bemusement. She was about to ask him what on earth did he think he was doing, when it finally registered that he had a finger on his lips and he was signaling for her not to wake Ukyo. He crossed over to the door (and she found herself admiring the way he didn't seem to make a sound with his footsteps) and deftly unlocked it, before taking a step out into the corridor of the inn.

Akane blinked. For a moment, her inner turmoil was pushed to the side, distracted by Ranma's strange request. He wanted her to follow. Then: did he really think she was going to leave the warmth of her bed to follow a sleep-disheveled, half-dressed -he was only wearing an undershirt with his pants, after all! – young man out, in the dead of the night?

"Hurry up," he mouthed impatiently. And as an afterthought, he added, "Get something to wrap round yourself; it's kind of cold out here."

She hesitated for a moment. Ah, what the heck. With a shrug, she swung her legs carelessly over the edge of the bed. Might as well, Akane thought glumly. It wasn't as though she was going to get any sleep for a while. Crossing the room, she grabbed the cloak she had recently purchased, before pausing to pick up the shirt Ranma had slung carelessly over the back of a chair. "Here," she said distractedly as she tossed it to him in the corridor, before proceeding to wrap her cloak tightly around herself. "Where are we going?"

"To train," he told her then, and Akane found herself worried at the relish he had replied her with.

Ranma was right. It was very cold out here at night. Discreetly, because she didn't want Ranma to think that she was a wuss, Akane pulled the cloak tightly around herself, trying to shield her bare legs from the winds. Still keeping her face straight, she followed Ranma out of the inn and a little distance away from the main roads, until they came to a stop next to a tall tree.

"So," said Ranma, sounding absolutely pleased and nonchalant. "I was going to get Ukyo to start teaching you in the morning, but since you aren't asleep right now, there's no use in wasting any more time." And then, being the crazy idiot that he was, Ranma _grabbed_ her by the waist, slapped a palm rudely over her mouth to cut off the startled shriek that was already emerging from her throat, and bloody _leapt_ up into the tree next to them.

For a moment, Akane thought she had forgotten how to breathe. Then, the shock ebbed away slightly, and reason returned, and without thinking, she slammed a fist onto Ranma's head. "Are you mad?" she snapped viciously, even as the boy who was holding her tried to shift to a more comfortable position on the branch they had landed in. He ignored her, testing the branch with one of his feet. It was one of the larger, steadier ones in the tree, and for Ranma's sake, Akane hoped it was safe, otherwise _someone_ was going to get hurt, and it wasn't going to be her.

When Ranma was finally satisfied, he set her down unceremoniously on the branch, before taking a seat on another branch. "Do ya always have to be so noisy?" he answered crossly at last.

Akane bristled. "What the hell are we doing up here anyway?" she shot out accusingly. A few weeks ago, the word 'hell' wouldn't even have existed in her vocabulary. "I know you like sleeping in trees, but I sure as hell don't!"

"Like I was saying," said Ranma, quite obviously irritated. He made a great show of massaging his fingers into the bridge of his nose, and in response, Akane scowled even more heavily. "If you could keep quiet long enough, then maybe I could teach you something."

That caught her interest. "Teach me something?"

She could feel him eyeing her in the dark, as though he was trying to gauge if she would be good enough to learn it. Then, finally, he gave a little sigh. "Meditation," he explained. "Thought it might calm you down or something."

Akane gave Ranma a funny look.

He seemed to have caught it, because he shrugged defensively. "Every new recruit who comes right in gets trained with self-defense. I mean, we haven't had violent clashes yet, and we use swords and spears if we really need to." He paused, for effect. "But ya can't tell when you might be stuck without a weapon, so we make every newbie learn the Art anyway. And meditation's important in learning the Art."

"Ranma," said Akane, after a long moment of silence. "I already know how to meditate. I'm a Maiden, remember? I meditate everyday."

"Great," Ranma answered shortly. "You look like you could use some meditation at this moment. And now you can learn to do it in a tree."

She was unable to hold back her snort of disbelief.

At this, Ranma could not keep the little grin off his face. "Works wonders for balance," he told her breezily. "Stops you from running away too. Since you're new at this, you can lean against the trunk."

"You're insane," she muttered, but in spite of herself, there was something within her that appreciated his underlying good intentions. With a sigh, she inched closer to the trunk, reaching out for its rough sturdy support.

Akane, as Ranma discovered, certainly wasn't one of his easier students. She twitched. She twisted. She sighed and wiggled. She made uncomfortable little noises and kept scratching discreetly where the bark poked her, and when she thought he wasn't looking, she would glance around at the night sky. Occasionally she would stare out in the direction of the market square. Watery moonlight filtered through the leaves of the large ancient tree, and in the dark, Ranma could make out the blank, somewhat sad expression that told him plainly that she was still thinking about what had happened earlier.

Her disinterest was palpable. In fact, even Ranma was having problems concentrating. "Focus!" he barked finally, feeling rather irritated. She snapped out of her daze at once. "Can't you sit still for two seconds? And stop poking at the tree; you're supposed to connect with your surroundings spiritually, not physically!"

To his surprise, Akane stilled as best as she could. "Sorry," she said meekly, though not without a touch of sullenness in her voice. "But the bark's itchy."

Ranma sighed yet again, and mentally wondered if he had done the right thing after all.

But Akane continued to surprise him. He had expected this new unexpected burst of stillness to last no more than a few minutes or so, but after ten minutes, she was still sitting quietly a little distance away. He was almost about ready to relax and focus on his own meditation, but he pulled himself out of it long enough to crack open an eye at her.

She was just sitting there, leaning heavily against the bark. Her eyes were wide open, and it was clear as hell that she wasn't doing anything remotely near meditation. Rather, she had a kind of pensive look on her face. Not the dazed blank one she had been wearing a while ago. This one was sharper, more lucid. And, Ranma thought to himself, maybe she wasn't meditating, but at least he had achieved his goal. Akane was calm now, and perhaps he would leave the real teaching up to Ukyo after all. He would never say it, but the way Akane had been trembling when they brought her to the inn had scared him. One look at Ukyo's tight drawn face, and Ranma knew that she was every bit as worried too.

"Hey, Akane?"

She was surprised to hear him speak. Wasn't he the one who got all hyped up over keeping silent and meditation? "Yeah?" she answered softly, unwillingly to shatter the silence that had just settled over them both.

He didn't reply for a while. Then, very quietly, very pensively: "I used to live with my parents in the east of Nerima. When I was eight, soldiers came and raided the village. They took a whole bunch of people, including my mom, back to the palace as servants." He paused for a little while, as though he was having difficulty forming his words. "Yeah, well, never saw her again."

"Oh," Akane breathed then, suddenly unsure of what to say. Why was he telling her this? "Your father?" she felt obliged to prod him gently.

Ranma seemed to shrug a little in the dark. "Taught me to fight. He was a martial artist. Took off when I was a little older. Said he was going to get Mom back, but I never saw him again either." He looked into the distance.

Why was he telling her this? He didn't know either.

Akane fidgeted, feeling unhappiness settle over them both. "Oh," she said again, because she didn't really know what else to say.

At this, Ranma seemed to straighten, becoming just that bit taller and fiercer. "Yeah, well, just wanted you to know," he began, although his voice was still quiet. "Sometimes… I, you know, I think I see Mom in a crowd somewhere."

Her breath caught. She didn't say anything for a long moment. Ranma let out an almost inaudible sigh, and began to tug awkwardly at his pigtail. Then, with a softness and calm beyond what she had thought she was capable of, Akane smiled a little at the young man beside her.

"But," she broke the silence a little wistfully. "She's never there, is she?"

He gave a short nod then, and Akane couldn't see his face in the dark. She said nothing else, but breathed a slow sad sigh for her sisters, and reached out with warm fingers to touch Ranma's hand. His fingers jerked a little then, as though surprised. She was about to withdraw in embarrassment when abruptly, they returned, tentatively reaching out to brush warmly against hers. They sat like that, barely touching.

She breathed the night air in deeply; he breathed with her. It was enough.

* * *

It was the middle of the night, and Miroku the monk found that he couldn't quite sleep well.

Now, Miroku was a young man who was very sensitive to his surroundings. It was a good trait to have, seeing as he was pretty much a vagabond, and young men who have traveled alone for half their lives should rightfully be alert and aware at all times. Yet, while he had always been a light sleeper, he had never had much difficulty falling asleep before. After some pondering, he concluded that it must be because he was with strangers tonight, and considering that they were the very same strangers who had knocked him out with a humongous boomerang, Miroku thought that it was very well within his right that he should feel a little wary of them.

So he lay in the little abandoned hut with Ryoga and Sango, and tried his best to go to sleep. Ryoga and he had put themselves in one side of the hut, whereas Sango had situated herself as far as possible. She did not seem uncomfortable to be alone in the presence of men: this was obviously one young woman who had no problems taking care of herself.

To his surprise, he heard the sounds of Sango getting up. She was very quiet and stealthy about it; obviously she did not want to wake her companions. So Miroku closed his eyes and breathed deeply, all the while listening to the sounds of Sango rustling around with her makeshift bedding.

Finally, he heard her footsteps, light and purposeful as she stole out of the cottage in the dead of the night.

Where was she going, came Miroku's first thought. Then: Probably to answer the call of nature. And he closed his eyes, and tried to go back to sleep.

But when Sango didn't return five, or ten, or fifteen minutes later, Miroku cracked open his eye and wondered if he should go and look for her. Granted, he didn't know the girl personally, and she _did _knock him out with her dangerously gigantic boomerang, but Miroku didn't think that a pious morally upright monk like himself ought to stand by and watch while a young woman wandered around in the middle of the night.

So, very quietly, because he did not want to wake the snoring Ryoga just like how Sango did not want to wake them both, Miroku got up from his place near the wall and stole out of the shack.

Outside, the air was chilly and crisp. Good weather to take a wee to, he thought mildly, and picked his way around the overgrown grass. The moon was out that night, and with no trees in the immediate vicinity to block the light, he had no problem at all navigating his way around the little abandoned village.

Other men might be nervous to be stuck out in the wilderness (in an abandoned village filled with gravestones, no less) with two strangers, but Miroku wasn't like other men. As a young boy, he had taken to wandering after his father died, and his master had consented, thinking that it would do the boy good to see a little of the world. So Miroku wandered, and while he did not know if he had seen enough of the world to be considered wisely yet, he _did_ know, however, that he had seen plenty of fresh young maidens in his journeys.

Sango, for example, was a fresh young maiden.

Though, in Miroku's opinion, she was a bit of a strange fresh young maiden. No, wait, maybe maiden wouldn't be such an ideal term to describe her with; she did, after all, haul around a whopping big boomerang like it weighed no more than a leaf.

He had been most pleasantly surprised to learn that she shared no relation with the fanged young man she was traveling with, for he was always delighted to be in the company of a fresh young thing.

Oddly, however, Sango didn't seem to flock to him quite as much as most of the other young women Miroku had met during his travels. It puzzled him. He was dressed as a monk, yes, but he was a very _charming_ and _dashing_ young 'monk', with an appreciation for beauty. He thought he might have inherited this particular little trait from his father; the men in Miroku's family had all been 'monks', albeit charming and dashing ones.

At this point in time, it might be worth mentioning that Miroku was _not_ a real monk.

As a country which thrived on trade and business, Nerima as a kingdom was a secular state. There were, however, a significant number of religious institutions in the kingdom, ranging from Buddhist monasteries to Christian churches. Heck, even that place up in the mountains with all those Maidens – that one that got wiped out a little while back.

Now, Miroku's family was not a deeply religious one, although, if Miroku had to align himself somewhere, it would be with the teachings of Buddhism. The men of Miroku's family were all wanderers, moving along from one town to another with their wives and children in tow, often stopping at various monasteries.

And, as Miroku (as well as his grandfather and father) had discovered quite early on, dressing in the holy robes of a Buddhist monk (or any religious figure, for that matter) tended to protect one from unwanted dangers quite well. He never used his robes to cheat others, of course – not that often, anyway – but merely to ease the difficulty of his journeys, or so Miroku liked to maintain.

Needless to say, as evident from his great genetic inheritance – just _look_ at his gleaming black hair pulled boyishly into a short ponytail! His striking violet eyes! His well-toned but unfortunately well-hidden physique! – the men of Miroku's family had always made extremely attractive 'monks', in Miroku's humble opinion. Women tended to flock to the men from Miroku's family, himself included.

Sango, as mentioned, didn't respond so well. Miroku thought it was charming.

In any case, Miroku would have to mention to her that he thought she had the loveliest derrière he had the pleasure of laying his eyes on…

Ah, speaking of which, there was the object of his thoughts…

He was halfway to her when he paused, changing his mind about calling out to get her attention. Sango, as he could see, was standing in front of three graves.

Perhaps, Miroku thought, this was not to the best time to interrupt the silent young woman.

He stopped in his tracks noiselessly, watching as she folded her hands neatly in her lap. For a long moment, she did nothing but stare at the graves; then something in her posture shifted, and she began to speak.

He couldn't hear a word of what she was saying; he did not have superhuman hearing after all. But, under the soft sheet of moonlight, he watched as her shoulders slowly relaxed and her hands played unconsciously with the hem of her top. She talked and she talked, and he did nothing but watch. He supposed that it was somewhat voyeuristic of him to do so. After all, this was clearly a very private moment between Sango and what was left of her family. But he couldn't stop watching. He wasn't even sure if he wanted to stop.

By the time she was done, he was already stealing back to the hut where Ryoga was. When she reentered the little hut, she heard nothing but slow calm breathing from her companions, and thought that nothing was amiss.

* * *

Morning arrived without warning, in the form of sudden sunlight that fell across Akane and struck her in the eyes quite painfully. Startled from sleep, Akane grumbled violently at the intrusive brightness before shoving her face deeper into the covers to no avail.

"Good morning, sunshine!" Ukyo all but yelled out, unbelievably chirpy after a good night's sleep. With a deft hand, she gathered the curtains of the small window beside Akane's bed and drew them aside even more. Ignoring Akane's attempts to curl into a protective ball against the sunlight, Ukyo reached down to ruffle her hair affectionately. "Rise and shine! It's a beautiful morning! Did you have a good night's rest?" she continued cheerfully, now reaching out to deftly tug the covers off the barely-conscious young woman.

Akane groaned, forced to acknowledge the monstrosity that was the sun. With a sigh, she pushed herself up at last, running her hands through her short messy hair. "Where are we going?" she asked finally.

"Out!" Ukyo answered brightly. Briskly, she shooed Akane off the bed and proceeded to make the bed with a practiced touch. "Off with you to the washing area! Hurry up, we don't have all day, you know!"

"What…" she stumbled in her haste towards the door. Where were her shoes? "What are we doing?"

"Training!" Ukyo declared enthusiastically. Again, Akane had to bite back a shudder at the relish that colored her voice at the word 'training'. In moments, she was out of the door to their small room, being hustled by Ukyo down the corridor. Several other inn guests were up and about already, hurrying past her in the corridor – Isha was a town of trade, and the work day started bright and early for most of its inhabitants. Though they were strangers, Ukyo nonetheless gave them a friendly grin in greeting as they passed.

"Where's Ranma?" Akane asked at last, recalling that he had not been in the room when she had been awoken by Ukyo. She struggled to keep up with Ukyo's brisk pace as they strode down the corridor.

"Oh, Ran-chan?" Ukyo answered distractedly as she maneuvered Akane down into the common washing area of the inn. "He's gone out on an errand, said he had some people to meet. He said" – and here Ukyo paused to sweep Akane with a concerned careful gaze – "He said that you were feeling better this morning, so he wants me to start you on your training."

"Oh," said Akane as they moved deeper into the cleaning area. She rolled up her sleeves, eager to clean her face with fresh cold water. Ukyo's expression, while kind and warm, remained politely inquiring. Somehow, Akane knew that what had transpired between her and Ranma would remain exactly what it was: private and honest under the cover of darkness. Shaking her head slightly to clear her head of her thoughts, she managed a weak grin at Ukyo. "So that means…?"

"Meditation first," replied Ukyo confidently, deciding to put aside the matter for now. She stuck a hand on her hip and beamed at Akane. "In fact, we're going to meditate every day from now on."

"Meditation," Akane repeated, unsure of how she ought to approach her training. "Great," she finished slowly. Just because she had done meditation everyday as a Maiden did not mean she necessarily reveled in it. Although, she had to admit that the brief respite and peace that meditation brought along was something she found herself missing recently.

If Ukyo heard her hesitation, she showed no sign of it. "Glad you think so too," the brunette returned cheerfully. "Now wash up quick!"

She cleaned up quickly and returned to their room to grab her cloak before following Ukyo down the inn. Stopping at the common dining area, Ukyo picked up a few fruits and tossed one towards Akane. "Have a plum," she offered. "It's going to be a long day ahead."

They spent the morning meditating. Or rather, Akane spent the morning meditating out in the forest, while Ukyo excused herself after an hour or so to check out the area. "I'm planning your training," she had told Akane, and there was an unmistakable note of satisfaction in her voice. "I need to look for suitable areas for us to train, away from the town."

So Akane had agreed. Waking up in the morning, she had felt a newfound but delicate sense of peace settle over her. Perhaps meditation alone would be good for her, she decided as she found a comfortable spot beneath the shade of a tree. Settling against the truth, Akane closed her eyes and concentrated on her breathing. For once, meditation came to her easily, and she found herself reaching out to her surroundings and reveling in the thrum of life in the forest around her.

Minutes became hours. By the time Ukyo finally returned for her, Akane was feeling considerably settled after the emotional turmoil of the previous night. "Hi," she greeted her friend as she approached. The sun was already high overhead, Akane realized. "Found any good places?"

Ukyo nodded, dropping down beside Akane where she sat. Pulling out a pouch, she passed it over to Akane, who opened it curiously to find it filled with wild berries, still wet from being washed in some stream. "Here," Ukyo pointed, popping a few into her mouth. "In case you're feeling hungry."

She ate a few to satisfy Ukyo. Truth be told, however, Akane wasn't feeling very hungry. After all, she had barely had any physical exertion all morning. "So," she began, as Ukyo reached over to grab another handful of berries. "What are we doing today?"

Ukyo smiled mysteriously. "You'll see," she replied vaguely, before taking to her feet and leading Akane deeper into the forest.

* * *

Dawn had just broken when Sango awoke. For a moment, she blinked up in confusion. Something must have woken her and yet, she sensed no immediate danger from her surroundings.

"Ah," chuckled someone softly. "I see that I could not escape your sharp hearing."

The monk. She swung her gaze to him slowly. He stood at the doorway of the small hut they were in, his hand resting lightly against the open door. His violet eyes crinkled in amusement as she met his gaze boldly, and he inclined his head towards her in greeting. As Sango sat up from where she lay, she noticed an unfamiliar cloak draped across her form. She glanced back at the monk questioningly.

"I noticed that you seemed cold," the monk explained simply, noting her look of curiosity.

She arched a brow at his answer. "Thank you, but it was unnecessary," she said at last. In the early morning, her voice was husky from sleep, but her tone bore every bit of formality. Miroku shrugged; she truly was an interesting girl, this Sango.

"It is a parting gift, my dear Sango," he murmured quietly, careful not to wake the still-dozing Ryoga. He turned to go, lifting a hand in farewell. Enough was enough, after all. He had a long journey ahead of him that day, and it would be good to be on his way before the sun truly made its presence felt.

"You're leaving?" The moment the words left her mouth, Sango grimaced inwardly. Well obviously he'd be leaving. He had no reason to stay with them, particularly after she had knocked him out quite unceremoniously with her boomerang.

Miroku turned then, fixing her with a serious look. For some reason, it felt as though he knew something she didn't, as though he had seen something within her. Sango glanced away awkwardly, not liking the discomfiting feeling. It made her feel oddly vulnerable. After a moment, she heard footsteps moving towards her. When he spoke again, he was much closer than she had expected. She looked up in surprise.

"Perhaps, Sango," Miroku murmured. She found her breath catching somewhere in her chest as she stared up at him, caught by his gaze. "We will meet again someday, and you can return me my cloak then."

He smiled at her then, and Sango found herself watching in confusion as the strange monk walked away from them.

* * *

They had been living in the town of Isha for almost two weeks now. "We're lying low for now," Ukyo had told Akane. When she asked about the location of the other rebels, Ukyo had waved a hand vaguely at her. "They are all over the Kingdom," she had said lowly. "They've been in contact with Ran-chan, so everything should be all right. When the time is right, we will regroup." It was, of course, a barely satisfactory answer for Akane. How on earth did they keep in contact with Ranma anyway? Surely it was too dangerous to send messengers when the Imperial Army had to be on the lookout? Where would they regroup? There were so many questions she wanted to ask, but Ukyo and Ranma never seemed to give her the answers she wanted.

Fortunately, it was difficult for Akane to even find time to worry about such questions. Ranma and Ukyo weren't kidding when they said that they would be training her hard; Akane found herself kept constantly busy throughout the day. After two weeks, life was beginning to take on a certain sense of predictability. On hindsight, maybe it was a good thing after all: the growing familiarity brought reassurance and comfort, providing her with a welcome break from the excitement of recent days that had entered her life. All that training worked as an outlet for Akane to release all her worries and stress, and it was little wonder that she began to experience a gradual lightening of mood as time passed.

Every morning, Akane would wake up around eight (and if she didn't, Ukyo would always be around to tip her out of bed with casual cheeriness). Breakfast was usually a quick and light affair, and then Ukyo would lead her into the woods. Mornings were then divided between meditation exercises – Akane grudgingly admitted that even meditation did have its attractions sometimes – and scouring the woods for useful plants and herbs. Ranma might scoff at Maidens being plant-lovers, but he underestimated the value of what they did, she often sniffed disdainfully. Perhaps it was out of nostalgia, or of a need to keep herself busy. But, within days, Akane found herself making medicinal pastes and creams with a fervor that surpassed what she had possessed when she'd actually been a Maiden. It wasn't hard; the woods were full of useful plants. She had obtained simple tools like a pestle and mortar easily enough, and before long, she found herself hard at work. Ukyo began to tag along, observing Akane with piqued interest while she pounded away with gusto at the plants she had collected.

"This is quite good you know," Ukyo had commented one day, carefully rubbing some cream into a muscle she had pulled during training. With a cheeky grin, she had tossed the small tub back to Akane, who recapped it absently. "People would actually buy this stuff! Thanks to you, Akane, we can probably cut down on money for first-aid supplies," she had joked then.

"Thanks," Akane had smiled, before a sudden odd glint passed over her eyes.

It did not go unnoticed by her friend. "Akane?" Ukyo had inquired, but Akane simply raised a hand to wave her query away.

"Oh, nothing, just thinking about some stuff," she hummed. Suddenly, however, her lips quirked upwards into a pleased grin. "You're a genius, Ukyo!" she had declared, and before Ukyo could respond, she had set off in the direction of the woods, leaving the brunette to blink questioningly after her.

It took her a few days to stock up on creams and salves, but Akane was ready soon enough. It did not take more than a kind smile and an offer of help to one of the local vegetable sellers to secure herself a makeshift stall in the marketplace. In a busy town like Isha, it wasn't long before word got round about the pretty young woman who sold cheap but high-quality medicinal pastes and creams in a corner of the marketplace every morning. Every marvel at her products was usually accompanied by praise at the warmth and attractiveness of the young woman who sold them ("Such a sweet young thing! So polite! So kind! Isn't she such a lovely rose? How talented of her to make such effective creams!"). And when she expanded her range of products to include beauty creams, the delight of the housewives increased even more, if that were possible. Within a week, Akane had single-handedly won over a good number of womenfolk (and plenty of the men) who visited the marketplace of Isha.

So it began. Every morning, Akane would sit at her makeshift stall and enjoy brisk business. Once afternoon rolled around, however, Akane would have to pack up her makeshift stall, apologetically turn away disappointed adolescent girls hoping for a bargain and make her way back into the cool woods. Sometimes Ukyo would accompany her as she made her way there; other times, her friend would be waiting in the woods for her instead.

Then they would lunge right into an afternoon of intensive training.

Training, in Akane's humble opinion, was possibly the most exhausting and exhilarating thing in the world. They started with easy stuff: Ukyo took her through basic punches and kicks, teaching her simple katas and the right way to block and fall. Then there were the drills and endurance training – things that Akane took to with an enthusiasm and natural flair that surprised even Ukyo.

A fast learner, she dove into her training with a seriousness that impressed her trainer. It helped too, of course, that Akane had been blessed with an athletic disposition and reveled in physical activity; as a Maiden, she had endured many lectures for always tearing wildly around the woods instead of picking herbs with dignity. Before long, Ukyo began to push her to her limits daily, challenging to go faster, harder, stronger.

Needless to say, by the time Akane collapsed into bed at the end of each day, sleep always came instantly.

During this entire period, though, Ranma was barely around. He was usually gone by the time she awoke; at the most, he would be on his way out of the room. Their meetings were filled with snide remarks and sharp bantering (no surprise there), but, as Akane had come to notice, some of the bite had disappeared from their conversations. It was as though ever since that evening up in the tree, something had changed. They still argued and called each other names, but something was different now.

Akane found, to her growing chagrin, that Ranma wasn't such a bad guy after all.

"I can smell your morning breath from over here," he had teased one morning.

Akane had rolled her eyes, struggling to hide a yawn. "Your body odor woke me up," she had retorted grumpily. She stretched then, only to wince when her muscles, still sore from the intense workout the previous day, protested painfully.

"Muscle ache?" he took a step towards her then, and despite the gruffness of his voice, she heard the underlying concern and hid her smile.

"Yeah," she had answered, rotating her shoulders carefully. She tried to hide her wince, not wanting to come across as weak, especially in front of macho-man Ranma. "I think I pulled something yesterday." To her surprise, he padded up to her, stepping right into what Akane liked to term her 'personal bubble'. She glanced up at him uncertainly, suddenly aware of the difference in their heights. "Wha-"

"Here?" He cut her off before she could finish speaking. Hs voice was low and deep, his fingers light and clinical as they tapped gently on the offending muscle.

Akane could not name the feeling that welled up strangely in her. Her nod in response was little more than an awkward jerk of her head.

Expertly, Ranma moved his hand down her upper arm, pressing down quickly on three different spots. Immediately the ache lessened, and Akane made a small sound of mixed surprise and delight, rotating her right shoulder freely. "Pressure points?" she hazarded a guess.

Ranma grinned, and absently ran his fingers down the length of her bare arm. She bit her lip instinctively, but he, being the thickheaded moron that he was, was oblivious. "So you _do_ know something other than plants," he commented. "Get Ucchan to take a look at it if the pain comes back."

"Jerk," she muttered. She had managed to recover by then, sticking her tongue out at him.

He blew out a long sigh. "Ungrateful macho chick," he drawled. Turning to go, he gave her a slight wave. "Yeah well, see you later."

"Ranma?"

He half-turned quizzically. "Yeah?"

She was standing by the window then. The sun had come up high enough for light to slant in warmly through the glass, cloaking her in a watery pale sheet of yellow. At his attention, Akane tilted her head slightly (and absurdly, Ranma observed that there were dark blue highlights in her hair that he had never really seen before).

"Thanks," she said at last, letting her lips curve into a shy warm smile.

He said nothing for a moment, before his lips took on a will of their own and quirked up in a boyish grin. "See ya, Akane," he let out breezily, and made his way out of the room.

In the days that passed, however, Ranma's appearances were few and far between. He was always out 'running errands', or so he claimed. And truth be told, Ukyo was keeping Akane so busy with training that she barely had any time to ponder over the missing pigtailed young man.

He made his presence known, nonetheless. Though both girls were usually fast asleep by the time Ranma got back each night, Ranma made it a point to sometimes leave hastily-scribbled notes for them in the morning, updating them on the state of their financial situation. Occasionally, they got news of other rebels. Once every few days, he even turned up for dinner, and (when he could actually tear his mouth away from food long enough, of course) he usually spent such mealtimes asking after Akane's performance during the grueling training sessions.

All in all, Akane felt, life was beginning to regain some of its lost color.

Yet, once in a while, in the strangest and most random of moments, she would pause to wonder what else was to come. After all, surely they weren't just in the town of Isha to train and eat and do small business on the side, right…? When were they going to leave? Where would they go? What was happening right now? Wasn't there supposed to be a rebellion going on? Was this what was meant by 'lying low'?

Akane was not the most patient of people, as those who knew her could easily testify.

Then Ranma showed up one afternoon – a first in the many days they've stayed in the town – and little did Akane know, the answers to her questions would soon be delivered.

Akane was carefully arranging her unsold creams into neat rows when a confident shadow fell across suddenly. Startled, she squinted and glanced up, trying to shield her eyes from the midday sun.

"Yo," greeted Ranma good-naturedly.

She blinked. "You!" she blurted without thinking. "What are you doing here?"

Ranma gave a mocking sigh. "You wound me, tomboy," he jibed lightly, bending down to help her arrange her goods. "I haven't actually seen you in days, and you won't even give me a friendly welcome?"

"Friendly? My ass," Akane muttered under her breath. She pulled her hands back, a little wary at his proximity as he bent over her makeshift stall.

Ranma shot her a queer look, before his lips quirked upwards in a grin that could only be described as cheeky. "I hate to break it to ya, Akane," he pronounced carefully. "But your ass can hardly be described as friendly… big? Yeah, maybe." He touched a hand to his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe even… _perky_…?" he mused.

Akane had turned flaming red. Ranma was oblivious, as usual.

She twitched then, fingers screwing themselves into angry fists against her will. "Ranma…" she drew out tightly, her brows drawn into a fierce crease.

Before she could say anything else, however, Ranma had straightened, chuckling wildly to himself. "Jeez!" he snorted, reaching down once again to poke her lightly in the middle of her forehead. "You should have seen the look on your face!"

She froze at his words, confusion, embarrassment and anger warring clearly on her face. Anger won, as usual, and Akane leapt to her feet. "What was that for, you immature jerk!" she snapped, her cheeks flushed from the emotion.

"For that stunt you pulled at the river – you pushed me in, remember?" he said triumphantly. "You tricked me, and then you pushed me in!"

She looked incredulous. "Oh, for the love of…!" she gritted out hotly, throwing up her hands. "Are you crazy? That was eons ago! What are you, a petty kid?" Then, as an afterthought: "And I did _not_ trick you! It's not my fault if you're a pigheaded idiot who didn't know how to treat other people nicely!"

"Hey, hey, don't make excuses," Ranma replied indignantly. "You did so trick me! And just so you know, Saotome Ranma might forgive, but he never forgets!"

"You… you…!" Akane was turning an interesting shade of red now, oblivious to the small crowd which had gathered around to stare openly at what had gotten the usually polite and pleasant young woman so worked up. Taking a deep breath, she jabbed an accusing finger at finger. "Forgive, my ass!" she roared, and several mothers in the vicinity winced, hastening to shield the virgin ears of their children. "You egoistical baboon-faced _jerk_!"

Ranma seemed immune to her outburst, however. "Lighten up, Akane," he answered dismissively, flapping a hand at her face. "I'm not that coarse, ya know." _Not usually, anyway._ And it was true. Ranma might have grown up in rough crowds, but making lewd comments to women weren't really his cup of tea. His mum had taught him better than that.

His mum had taught him a lot of things, come to think of it.

He grimaced mentally, before forcefully steering himself from that train of thought. Akane was still gaping at him, her eyes sparking in delicious anger. Ranma chuckled, glad to have something to which he could turn his thoughts. She really had no idea how flushed she got when she was angry. It was – dare he say it – almost attractive. Clearing his throat in surprise at the direction of his thoughts lately, Ranma turned away to hide the slight heating of his cheeks. He settled for sticking his hands into his pockets, a picture of nonchalance. "So, Akane, you coming?"

She fumed. "Where to?" she thought to ask at last, seeing as he was walking away from her.

"Lunch, duh." His reply was easy, his manner relaxed. Akane fumed even more.

But he was right – it was time for lunch, and she could feel the first stirrings of hunger. Being angry at Ranma could afford to wait, at least until she had appeased her appetite. With a huff, Akane began to clear her makeshift stall, sweeping the creams into a bag with practiced ease. "Looks like someone's in a good mood today," she drawled out bitingly as she worked, pushing the wooden crates she used as display surfaces towards one of the alleys. Ranma ignored her barb, automatically coming up to help her to move them away.

With Ranma's help, Akane finished packing up in less than half the time she usually took. With a huff, she heaved the bag of unsold goods over her shoulder and started off in the direction of the inn they were staying at. Ranma trailed behind her casually, tucking both hands behind his hand. They had hardly begun on their trek across the marketplace when something occurred to Akane abruptly.

"Ranma," she spoke up sharply then, not bothering to turn around.

"Huh?"

Akane adjusted her grip on her bag. "The state of my ass is none of your business," she informed him smartly. Before he could respond, she had set off at a jaunty pace, ignoring her companion with a huffy toss of her hair.

Ranma had to work to keep his smirk off his face. "Whatever," he answered then, letting his gaze linger absently on the subtle sway of her hips as he followed behind her.

* * *

**A/N:** First of all, HELLO! Yes, I owe you this. It has been more than THREE YEARS since I last updated this story and, wow, time flies. I don't know how many people would still be reading this, but I found a half-written draft on my computer a few days ago and decided to finish it. Hope you enjoyed the read! C&C welcome.

**Why did it take three years for this to be updated? Will this be updated on a regular basis from now on?**

To be honest, I have no idea. I'd like to think I'll finish it eventually, but I can't make any promises. Yes, I have already planned out how this is supposed to end. (Whether I actually follow the initial plan is another question altogether though, haha). But a lot has happened in the last three years – I've moved across the world alone to attend college (in my first year now, in case you're wondering), for one thing. I've started on a career. I'm involved in volunteer work and societies. And, of course, I have family and relationship commitments to attend to.

Sometimes inspiration strikes – then I write. Usually, though, life is just too busy, and I don't want to compromise on the standard of my writing by rushing updates, so I hope you'd understand. Till then, I hope you'll keep following this story! :)


End file.
